Scottish Conservative Holyrood candidate shocked by NHS Highland bullying report
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The Scottish Conservative candidate for Inverness and Nairn is calling on the NHS Highland board to urgently root out the continued presence of a toxic bullying culture within the organisation.
The board of NHS Highland will meet tomorrow to discuss two revelatory reports into bullying by the Independent Review Panel (IRP) and their plans to address the issue.
According to the new reports from the IRP, bullying continues to be a problem within the health board.
It states: “The IRP has now seen over 90 individuals who have accessed the Healing Process.
"The themes we reported in our first report are still being brought to us by staff members and the issues raised are not only historical but being experienced up to 2020.
“Worryingly, many individuals do not see that any positive changes have been made during 2020, which the IRP appreciates is a time-period beyond our remit.”
Edward Mountain has labelled this finding as “shocking” and is calling on NHS Highland to urgently take steps to transform the culture of the health board.
Mountain commented: “The revelations of bullying in these two reports are frankly horrifying. It is totally shocking that nearly two years on from the Sturrock Report that bullying still persists in the health board.
“A total of 26 recommendations from the IRP shows much NHS Highland has to do to transform its culture.
"Not a moment must be wasted, for the wellbeing of staff these recommendations must be implemented as a matter of urgency.
“I encourage all staff members who have experienced bullying and harassment to contact the Healing Process before it closes on 31 March 2021.
“I also make this pledge: if re-elected I will continue to work hard to promote inspiring and caring leadership of all healthcare employees in NHS Highland.”
