Nurse urges others to speak out on bullying

A RETIRED nurse says bullying made her leave NHS Dumfries and Galloway, after ‘three years of hell’.

‘Claire’, not her real name, moved to the region with her family in 2015 and began working in healthcare in 2020.

However, within days of starting her new job, Claire says that she began experiencing bullying and harassment.

She claims that it ranged from negative comments towards her and being shouted over whenever she asked questions during her orientation period, to being stared at in the corridor.

She reported some of the incidents to her manager.

However, Claire added: “As I had raised this as concern and felt it was a barrier to my performance, it came up that I was incompetent.”

Thereafter things started escalating and Claire says she was then subject to intimidation, isolated during meetings and received comments about her nationality.

She added: “I spoke about my experiences in England when asked, I was told I ought to ‘go back and practice there then’.

Claire documented her experiences and the situation resulted in her needing to take sick leave.

She tried to seek the support of her union and management but asserts that her complaint wasn’t taken seriously by either and it took weeks to actually speak to anyone.

Meanwhile, during her sickness absence a report was made to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), claiming she wasn’t fit to practice and accusing her of fraud around the nursing revalidation process.

With the help of a barrister, Claire successfully cleared her name but the process lasted until she left the NHS and retired in 2023.

She said: “The effect of the vexatious lies, restrictions on my practice and being accused before an NMC hearing that ought to never have happened has had a devastating effect on my life.

“To have been exonerated after three years, with the assistance of my barrister, I am delighted to be at the other end of it!”

She is sharing her story in the hope of helping others and said: “Many nurses are afraid to whistleblow when there are bullying concerns because they worry that they will not be taken seriously.

“I don’t regret raising my concerns. I would encourage any individual experiencing bullying and harassment to speak up and record what is happening/time for future reference.”

Responding to Claire’s statements, Mark Kelly, executive director of nursing at NHS Dumfries and Galloway, said: “Any report or suspicion of bullying is taken very seriously by NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

“In a situation where bullying is reported or suspected, concerns will be listened to and discussion will take place with the employee on progressing these concerns in line with the Once for Scotland Bullying and Harassment Policy.

“We are sorry to hear of any staff member who may have had a poor experience. As an organisation our core values are compassion, openness, respect and excellence, and we have developed a Behaviours Framework based on those values, which exists to support staff across the organisation. Staff are encouraged to raise any concerns and there is a ladder of escalation to ensure concerns are considered appropriately.

“Our Speak Up campaign encourages all members of staff to share any concerns they have, and all concerns are taken seriously, whether they relate to patient safety, quality of care, or workplace issues.

“Staff welfare and wellbeing is of paramount importance, and everyone working within NHS Dumfries and Galloway should be assured that any and all concerns around bullying will be dealt with in a professional and supportive manner.”