Bosses were alerted years ago about toxic working relations at a Scots hospital that has now been hit by serious bullying claims.
An investigation was launched by Scotland’s then chief medical officer in 2018 into problems in A&E at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, Stirlingshire.
Catherine Calderwood visited the department and was told of allegations of conflict between doctors and nursing leaders in the department.
But the board of NHS Forth Valley failed to act to resolve the conflicts and this week a review revealed tensions reached “irretrievable breakdown of necessary working relationships”.
The review said the bullying and intimidation of staff had been over a “prolonged period” and staff say problems stretch back years.
Complaints to the review team referred mostly to management bullying and victimisation of nursing staff but doctors also complained they were intimidated.
Yesterday, we revealed that an independent review into the department was triggered last December after unions the Royal College of Nursing and Unison raised staff allegations that NHS Forth Valley management “colluded in and condoned” high levels of bullying and harassment in the A&E team.
The review found patients were put at risk by a culture of bullying and cover-ups at the hospital.
Today we can reveal the RCN emailed its concerns to the hospital’s acute management team in October last year.
When no action was taken after a month, the matter was escalated by staff representatives to chief executive Cathie Cowan.
One insider said yesterday: “The bullying and intimidation problems … have been going on for years and there have been so many missed opportunities to tackle them head-on.
“There were red flags of good people leaving and going off sick but they were ignored … it was allowed to carry on and only got worse.
“The latest review has been welcomed by staff who hope that at last something will be done.”
Calderwood’s 2018 visit centred on A&E’s poor performance in meeting waiting time targets but also looked at the working culture.
She recommended hospital bosses look at other hospitals’ ways of working, team support and support for staff.
Forth Valley NHS last night confirmed Calderwood visited the hospital in October 2018.
The spokesman said: “Following her visit she put forward a small number of recommendations which were fully addressed at that time.”
