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NHS Highland has more than 300 registered cases of bullying victims claiming restitution


By Scott Maclennan

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Raigmore Hospital.
Raigmore Hospital.

Victims of bullying within NHS Highland are having to wait more than five months on average to have their cases dealt with.

A total of 309 victims have registered with the externally managed Healing Process set up in the wake of the major investigation into bullying and harassment claims at the health board, which was triggered by whistle-blowers going public on their concerns.

Both current and former employees of NHS Highland going through this process have a number of different “solutions” available to them, including financial settlement, access to psychological therapies, or both.

An independent review panel (IRP) hearing makes recommendations on each case to the health board for approval, basing these on the requests of the participant and its assessment of each case.

Apologies, further referral to additional internal processes, redeployment or re-engagement are other possible outcomes for addressing issues raised.

In a report for the latest NHS Highland board meeting, HR director Fiona Hogg said: “On average, it is taking 5.3 months for participants to reach their panel date from registration. Some people have been as short as two months and the longest has been 13 months.

“There are many reasons for the differing timescales, driven by both the availability of the panels and the individual needs and availability of the participant.”

So far, 124 people have been through the full process.


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