A hospital trust shaken by bullying allegations has told its staff there is "no place" for such behaviour in the organisation, also urging those with similar concerns to raise them internally.
The chief executive of the Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) has taken the unusual step of emailing all colleagues at the trust after shocking claims alleged a "toxic" culture of bullying and threats at Arrowe Park Hospital.
They were revealed earlier this month, with both an experienced nurse and former interim head of governance telling the ECHO how they dread coming to work and have trouble sleeping due to the issues.
A round email to all staff from chief executive Janelle Holmes and seen by the ECHO said: "Many of you will have seen the media posts over the weekend about our organisation and in particular allegations of bullying.
"We all know that bullying and harassment can have a huge impact on the wellbeing of our colleagues. It can cause stress, anxiety and a range of illnesses that affect people's working lives, home life and social relationships. We also know that happy staff deliver great patient care which is why there is no place in the organisation for this type of behaviour."
The email also urged staff suffering from bullying and harassment to raise it via the internal channels.
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Ms Holmes continued: "I'm sure you would agree that we want WUTH to be the best place to both give and receive care. We want to create an environment where all staff feel supported to speak up and where appropriate behaviours are challenged. However, to be able to tackle inappropriate behaviour we are reliant on staff feeling able to raise their concerns."
It said that there are a "number of ways", both informally and formally, to do so - through the trade unions and the trust's own confidential Freedom to Speak Up service.
It added: "If you feel you are unable to raise your concern with your line manager or via the other routes, please speak to any member of the WUTH senior team including myself as chief executive."
WUTH was contacted for further comment by the ECHO.
The email went on to mention how it is "not the first time" this type of concern has been raised, and promoted its anti bullying campaign, which saw 1,800 staff spoken to at values and behaviour sessions, as well as increasing the number of Freedom to Speak Up champions and guardians.
It added: "It's extremely important for patient care and safety to ensure that WUTH is a friendly, welcoming and respectful place to work, where staff feel supported and able to raise concerns."
It was referring to how the hospital last year was forced to say sorry for a perceived culture of bullying and harassment, with almost half of doctors saying they had "experienced bullying, harassment or abuse" in a 2017 survey.
The Liverpool ECHO reported that Dr Susan Gilby, medical director at the time, said that the trust deeply regretted failures to deal with allegations made by staff, promising "cultural change" at WUTH.
A month before that, former chief executive David Allison stood down after colleagues reportedly accused him of aggressive behaviour and a "lack of grip" on the organisation (Mr Allison said he stepped down for "personal reasons").
On April 14, the ECHO reported bullying claims from both the former interim head of governance, Shelley Watson, and an experienced nurse.
The nurse, who has worked at the hospital for over 20 years and wished to remain anonymous, claimed staff constantly feel "threatened", and that when complaints are raised, "witch hunts" are started to find out who made them.
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She said: “Bullying is carrying on. It's widespread through the organisation. People feel threatened. [The management] are not bothered about us.
"If you cannot work extra hours, you are threatened. You are told it's up to you to cover the ward.
"They are nit-picking your work all the time and constantly on your back about stupid things.”
Ms Watson left the hospital recently after being a contractor there for around a year.
She’s worked in different roles for dozens of NHS trusts over 20 years, often up to board level, and charges up to £1,000 a day for her services.
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Speaking about her experience, the mum-of-one said: “The bullying started straight away. It was absolutely shocking. I felt worthless. I doubted myself and my capability.”
She said she would often by sworn at while at work and told her work was "s***", sometimes even in front of her own team.
