Hospital bosses in Harrogate will launch an investigation into a “culture of bullying” in the trust’s estates department which some staff described as “toxic”.
Behaviour cited in a report included defacing tools or belongings with offensive graffiti, collectively ignoring or ostracising people and damaging belongings of individuals, including gluing of equipment or lockers.
It comes as Harrogate and District Foundation Trust commissioned consultancy firm Deloitte to carry out a review into the trust’s culture and leadership.
The review included Harrogate Integrated Facilities (HIF), a subsidiary of the trust which runs the hospital’s estates.
Following interviews with 52 members of staff and 63 surveys, the report found “widespread concerns” over bullying, leadership and poor recruitment practice in the estates department.
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The report said a “significant number” of those interviewed explicitly stated that bullying was taking place or described events that could be labeled as such. But, it added that it was concerned that some of the reports were dismissed as “banter”.
It said:
“We find it concerning that a significant number (over 20) of those interviewed from within estates dismissed the issues described above as ‘banter’, ‘childish pranks’ and ‘fine, a bit of a laugh’.
“We were also concerned at the number of staff during interview who felt that some of the behaviours identified above could be excused, on the basis that it was felt recruitment processes had been mishandled or people ‘weren’t up to the job’ or ‘didn’t fit in’.”
Meanwhile, Deloitte found that the approach to recruitment at HIF “did not demonstrate good practice” and recommended a thorough review of its policies.
Among the findings included a number of applicants who were shortlisted and appointed without demonstrating essential criteria and some posts which were not advertised in line with policy.
Further concern was raised over the lack of leadership in estates, with 45 of the 52 members of staff raising concern over communication, decision making and senior management isolating themselves from other workers.
Steve Russell, Chief Executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the hospital is committed to addressing the findings in the report.
Following the report, the trust board agreed launch an investigation which will be carried out by an external body into reported bullying and poor recruitment practice in the department.
Steve Russell, chief executive at the hospital trust, said the organisation was committed to addressing the findings in the report.
He said:
“Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust is a values driven organisation; Respectful, Responsible and Passionate. We emphasise the need to treat each other with kindness, civility and compassion. Our strategy is focused on the pursuit of quality improvement and we believe that improving the experience of all our colleagues will lead to better care for our patients.
“To help further improve in delivering the best possible employee experience and in turn the best possible patient experience, a specialist team from Deloitte were commissioned in August 2019 to undertake a neutral assessment and to help us understand in more detail views of which areas we should and could improve upon.
“Deloitte found many important positives about the trust as a place to work and the culture that is fostered. Almost everyone they spoke with described the trust as a ‘great place to work’ and described the culture using words such as ‘friendly’ and ‘family’. Many who had worked elsewhere in the NHS compared the Trust positively to their other experiences.
“At the same time, Deloitte found areas in which there are issues that we need and want to address. We are naturally disappointed to hear this, but pleased, that now identified, we will be to create a better working environment for colleagues and become the outstanding place to work delivering the level of care that we all aspire to.
“We are committed to addressing the findings of Deloitte’s work. We have already put in place new measures to support individual services to develop, and we are taking specific actions to better support staff.”
