‘Staff still don’t feel safe from bullying’: Inspector exposes toxic culture at Birmingham hospital

Hospital inspectors have found that bullying, racism, sexism and spillover effects on patient care persist at Birmingham’s main hospital. Almost a year after review revealed toxic culture within the scope of trust.

Birmingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital and Solihull Hospital, has had its overall rating downgraded to ‘requires improvement’ following an inspection by healthcare watchdog the Healthcare Quality Commission. .

Inspectors said that despite restructuring, leadership changes and new initiatives, the trust was still failing many staff, with its rating downgraded from ‘well led’ to ‘inadequate’. He said that he was

According to the CQC, the report revealed that some staff did not feel safe from bullying and harassment, which meant that much of the good, innovative work and compassion and care that was being provided was lost. It is said that it will be ruined.

The report said that although there had been “genuine efforts to learn and improve”, there were still “concerned respondents who felt the trust did not have an open culture across the organization where they could raise concerns without fear of censure or punishment”. We have the right number of staff.” Additionally, some staff did not feel safe and protected from bullying and harassment, which had a negative impact on their health.

It added: “This is completely unacceptable and must be addressed as a priority by leaders to ensure staff feel supported and are able to provide the best care for people.”

Inspectors also found that the quality of critical care for patients had deteriorated significantly, with safety measures in the emergency departments of three major hospitals deemed to be “inadequate”.

Neurology services at QE and medical care at Good Hope were also rated as ‘inadequate’, while maternity services at Heartlands have not improved since a warning notice was issued early last year and remain ‘inadequate’. is.

Cancer services in QE were downgraded to ‘requires improvement’, while critical care services were downgraded to ‘requires improvement’. Inspectors visited the trust in August and October last year to examine its progress in a range of areas after damaging previous findings.

The trust says it has made further significant improvements since then.

Charlotte Rudge, CQC Midland Deputy Director of Operations, said:

“There have been a number of personnel changes at senior levels over the last year, including a new chief executive, new directors and a number of new non-executive directors. There has been change and the beginning of recovery, but there has been a recognition of the current Regarding concerns, there has not yet been enough time to demonstrate progress and demonstrate how leaders are addressing risks, issues and challenges in services and resolving them effectively. This specifically related to staff safety issues, which remained unresolved. “Throughout the organization, not all leaders have demonstrated that they have the skills to be effective leaders and protect staff from discrimination.”

The key findings across the Trust were:

• Staff across the organization felt that they were consistently supported, safe, respected and valued.

• Many staff who consulted the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian office felt that the process of speaking out through official channels was not adequately supported by the trust.

• CQC has been told by some staff from minority ethnic groups that the organization does not always promote equality and diversity in its day-to-day work and provide opportunities for career development.

• Throughout the organization, not all leaders have demonstrated that they have the skills to be effective leaders and protect staff from discrimination.

Along with positive comments regarding improvements at the trust, the following comments were made:

• The Trust’s welfare arrangements for staff in difficulty include food parcels, food banks, clothing and uniform exchanges, psychological first aid, financial support and support for staff experiencing temporary homelessness. Recognized as excellent.

• A governance improvement and transformation program is underway. Inspectors have found a group of dedicated and caring people from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of experience and knowledge to carry out this task. They recognized that organizations were moving at a fast pace toward change, especially the introduction of new governance structures.

• There has also been a visible improvement in senior leadership, making them more visible and approachable in the trust of employees and staff.

Dame Eve Buckland, Director of University Hospital Birmingham, and Jonathan Brotherton, Chief Executive, said in a statement:

“We are pleased that the CQC findings recognize that initial work has been carried out well and improvements are still in the early stages, but the significant changes needed will take time.

“We have made significant changes to our leadership since the CQC visit, a new group operating model with leadership based in local hospitals, and the actions set out in our improvement program are ensuring that learning, We believe it demonstrates our commitment to improvement and evolution.

“However, we know that cultural change cannot be fixed quickly or superficially, and that a significant amount of work is required to ensure that change is felt by all colleagues. I know.

“As leaders, we all strive to build trust among all of us to ensure that UHB is a great place to work and thrive, and a great place for our patients to receive care. That is essential.

“We have zero tolerance for racism, misogyny or any form of discrimination. We encourage more colleagues to feel confident in speaking out, but we want everyone to feel safe. We want you to be able to speak your mind and speak your mind, and in consultation with leaders, staff representatives and trade unions, we are reorganizing our freedom of speech service to meet the needs of all colleagues and empower them to raise concerns with confidence. We have conducted an internal review to learn from real-world experience and strengthen our mechanisms and outcomes in response to concerns raised.

“We are disappointed by the change in the assessment of critical care services at Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital. We have seen significant improvements in recruitment and retention within the department, with it now almost fully staffed and an improved skill mix.

“We are fully aware that there is much work to be done, and we are also aware that we have not yet solved all the many problems that have accumulated over the years. We have changed, and will continue to change, the way we respond and approach change and recovery. It is reassuring that CQC recognized at the time of our visit that we were at the beginning of a major transformation program. Change and recovery. There was a beginning and recognition of current and past concerns, but there had not yet been enough time to test new ways of working or their impact.”

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