Issue - meetings

Resolved: the committee praised the trust for commissioning the review and recommended making the final report clear and accessible for staff with clear action points on what is going to done.

Ben Travis (Chief Executive, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

5.1       Figures from the 2017 Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust (LGT) staff survey showed that 29% of staff felt that they had been bullied of harassed in the previous 12 months.

5.2       LGT also carried out a Leadership Capacity Review which found that it is felt in the organisation that there is an issue with bullying and harassment at a senior level.

5.3       LGT subsequently commissioned an external review of bullying and harassment at the trust.

5.4       The review focused on those who have been involved in cases of bullying and harassment and is not therefore a representative sample of all colleagues in the trust.

5.5       The final report is based on conversations between the investigator and around 75 colleagues.

5.6       The principle findings of the review included: while bullying at LGT is not institutionalised, it is widespread and evident in all divisions; there is a sense from staff that this behaviour has been known about and condoned; investigations into cases of bullying has been sub-standard; there are still individuals within the organisation whose behaviour needs to be addressed.

5.7       An independent oversight panel is being established to hold the board to account on the review, which will communicate with stakeholders after every meeting to update on progress.

The committee asked a number of questions. The following key points were noted:

5.8       The LGT has mechanisms in place to pick up on cases of bullying and harassment, including anonymous reporting systems, but they are not being used to the extent that they should be. A lot of bullying and harassment cases are not formally reported anywhere.

5.9       One of the recommendations of the review was to re-energise exit interviews and ensure that they are consistently offered.

5.10    The trust will be agreeing with staff some clear objective criteria on behaviour and establishing a charter between the organisation and its employees, setting out what to expect from managers and what the trust expects in return. It will also be commissioning mandatory training for all leaders.

5.11    The trust’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion network and Staff-Side Committee were involved before the review was commissioned and throughout the process.

Resolved: the committee praised the trust for commissioning the review and recommended making the final report clear and accessible for staff with clear action points on what is going to done.