The trust running Nottingham's major hospitals has heard examples of "direct and indirect racism" against staff and some of them feel as though bullying is "tolerated". The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) in 2021 and noted several bullying issues, particularly against staff members who are black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME).
The CQC rated NUH as requiring improvement in several areas, with an inadequate rating in relation to whether services were well-led. Following the report's publication, NUH has been engaging with staff through its Big Conversation initiative and the trust now says it is moving in the "right direction".
The trust will update the health scrutiny committee at Nottingham City Council on its improvement at a meeting on Thursday (February 16). A report from Dr Neil Pease, chief people officer at NUH, will be presented to councillors and it notes some of the issues that the trust has heard from staff.
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Dr Pease said: "Through our ongoing engagement with staff we have heard examples of direct and indirect racism, colleagues feeling excluded or ignored, micro-aggressions and examples of using pressures as an excuse for bullying. When asking staff to help identify why they felt this was happening, themes include bullying becoming the norm, managers not having the skills or support to tackle bullying and a lack of information sharing about what action has been taken.
"Staff also told us that they often didn't feel they were able to raise these concerns because bad behaviour and bullying is tolerated, they do not feel safe to raise concerns, there is a lack of trust in the processes to achieve resolution and investigation processes require individuals to relive experiences which can have a significant emotional or psychological impact."
The trust said action taken to improve the experience of staff has included cultural awareness training and unconscious bias training on recruitment. Dedicated surveys to capture the experience of BAME staff and the use of data to identify 'hotspot' areas of concern when it comes to bullying are also among the measures that have been taken.
The chief executive of NUH, Anthony May, said: "It is an unfortunate truth that some colleagues report experiences that do not fit with the values of a modern NHS organisation. Since joining NUH in September 2022, I have received reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination.
"I am clear that this behaviour will not be tolerated and it must stop. I say this on behalf of the trust board, who stand with me.
"I know that much is being done to turn our culture around, and there is more to do. Everyone at NUH must play their part in our future and our union colleagues and staff network colleagues have been, and will continue to be vital in supporting and developing this work.
"They are, in partnership with key stakeholders, working hard to support the change that we all want to see. This includes the appointment of a director for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and the creation of a new trust board sub-committee focused on EDI, which will develop our inclusion strategy and is chaired by a non-executive director."
In terms of bullying at NUH, the CQC's 2021 report said: "There was a culture of bullying across the organisation. In two separate forums we were told of bullying incidents occurring across the trust with a 'lack' of ability to address or resolve incidents in a timely fashion and that culture, policies and procedures did not provide staff with adequate support.
"We were told of a number of bullying cases were directly attributable to racial discrimination." Addressing bullying across NUH was one of the actions which the CQC said the trust must take to improve.
Mr May added: "I cannot promise change overnight; this will take time and it is not easy. What I can promise is that I am committed to ensuring we move to becoming a zero-tolerance organisation – an organisation that our colleagues would recommend to their families and friends as an excellent place to work and receive care."
Mr May will be among those updating councillors at Thursday's meeting, taking place at Loxley House. The chairs of the trust's BAME staff network and shared governance council will also be updating councillors.
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