Tackling bullying and harassment

We have published an independent report into bullying and harassment at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. This report was commissioned by the Trust Board.

 

Preface to the report from Ben Travis, chief executive

Since I joined the Trust, it has been clear that we need to do more to make sure that all staff feel respected, valued and supported. While I’ve met many staff who have a great experience of working here, I’ve also spoken to a number of people who have told me about their experiences of bullying and harassment.

Bullying and harassment is recognised as an issue across the NHS as a whole. It’s a real concern that our staff survey showed that 29 per cent of staff at this Trust reported problems with bullying and harassment, against a national average of 24 per cent. So I commissioned this independent assessment to find out more from people who have experienced problems and from those involved in handling these issues.

I wanted to give a voice to those who feel that the system has let them down. That’s why we have spoken to people who have reported concerns, and I’d like to thank everyone who has shared their experiences for this report. While the report does not represent the views of everyone who works here, it does show the experiences of many members of staff. We need to make this a great place to work for everyone, and understanding the views of those who’ve not had great experiences is essential for this.

When we commissioned this assessment, we knew that it would make difficult reading. We are sharing this with you as we need to be open and transparent. It’s clear that there have been many cases of bullying and harassment in the Trust and, as a leadership team, we’ve not done enough to tackle this. This includes improving how we investigate cases and supporting anyone who reports concerns.

I want to assure you of my personal commitment to addressing these issues. Our next step is to develop a full action plan to tackle bullying and harassment, in line with the recommendations of this report. We’ve set up open staff meetings for the next two years to report to you on progress and we will be publicising the dates widely in our Staff Updates and on the intranet. In addition, we will appoint a group to hold us to account on this work. This will be led by an independent chair and will include staff representatives. We will be working closely with our staff-side (the unions in the Trust) and the equality and diversity network on all this.

I want to apologise to anyone in the Trust who has experienced bullying and harassment. This is a watershed moment for the Trust and we need to be clear: bullying and harassment will not be tolerated in any part of the organisation. We recognise that people are working under pressure. However, this doesn’t excuse bullying, and we need to do more to become an organisation that supports all our staff. The important thing is that we learn so that we can make the changes that are needed to do this. We need to come together and have the confidence to live our values and challenge others to do so.

 

Ben Travis

Chief executive

 

Full report and recommendations