UK
'Bullying, harassment and sexualised behaviour' at South East Coast Ambulance Service exposed in damning reportWhistleblowers who raised their concerns with the CQC were praised today for being 'brave enough to come forward'
By Mary Harris 22 JUN 2022
South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)
"High levels of bullying and harassment and inappropriate sexualised behaviour" became normal at South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust because leaders failed to take action, a damning report from a watchdog has found.
The report from the Care Quality Commission contains searing criticism of the trust, which is known as SECAmb. Inspectors were called in after a "high number of whistleblowing concerns" from staff.
The inspection was undertaken after CQC received a high number of whistleblowing concerns relating to culture and leadership, including inappropriate sexualised behaviour, bullying and harassment, leaving staff feeling scared to speak out, and a failure by the trust leadership team to address concerns raised.But while staff were doing their very best to provide safe care to patients, leaders often appeared out of touch with what was happening on the front line and weren’t always aware of the challenges staff faced. Staff described feeling unable to raise concerns without fear of reprisal - and when concerns were raised, these were not acted on. This meant that some negative aspects of the organisational culture, including bullying and harassment and inappropriate sexualised behaviour, were not addressed and became normalised behaviours."
The findings mean the trust will receive the "highest level of support" to improve its leadership. It has been given an action plan it must carry out to make it improvements. Inspectors in this latest visit have rated the emergency operation centre and NHS 111 as "good overall".
The CQC has suspended the overall ratings for the trust while it carries out further checks. The last inspection in July 2019, rated the trust good in all five areas.
Amanda Williams, CQC’s director of integrated care, said: “We carried out this inspection of South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust in response to concerns raised with us around culture and leadership.
'Fear of reprisal'
”Our inspectors found that staff on the front line were doing their utmost to provide safe and effective care and treatment of patients across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. They were doing a good job, especially in light of the additional pressures on the service caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But while staff were doing their very best to provide safe care to patients, leaders often appeared out of touch with what was happening on the front line and weren’t always aware of the challenges staff faced. Staff described feeling unable to raise concerns without fear of reprisal - and when concerns were raised, these were not acted on.
"This meant that some negative aspects of the organisational culture, including bullying and harassment and inappropriate sexualised behaviour, were not addressed and became normalised behaviours. I want to praise those staff who were brave enough to come forward, as speaking up in these circumstances is not easy, but it is important that it happens.
“There was a clear disconnect between leaders and staff, leading to a poor and unsupportive culture, As a result, the leadership for the trust as a whole has been rated inadequate, while the emergency operation centre, and NHS 111, was rated as good overall.
“It’s clear the trust needs help to ensure significant improvements in leadership are put in place to give hardworking staff the support they need and deserve to deliver good care. I am therefore recommending to NHS England and Improvement that South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust should be placed in segment four of the system oversight framework and receive additional support via the recovery support programme.
"High levels of bullying and harassment and inappropriate sexualised behaviour" became normal at South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust because leaders failed to take action, a damning report from a watchdog has found.
The report from the Care Quality Commission contains searing criticism of the trust, which is known as SECAmb. Inspectors were called in after a "high number of whistleblowing concerns" from staff.
Workers asked to describe the culture to inspectors frequently used the word "toxic", said the report
The shocking findings exposed a culture in which staff were scared to speak out because they feared reprisals. And those who alerted the CQC were praised today (June 12) for being "brave enough to come forward".
While frontline staff were described as "doing their utmost to provide safe and effective care" for patients across parts of Hampshire as well as Kent, Sussex and Surrey, it was the leaders who were described by inspectors as "out of touch" and not always aware of the challenges their staff faced.
The CQC said:
The shocking findings exposed a culture in which staff were scared to speak out because they feared reprisals. And those who alerted the CQC were praised today (June 12) for being "brave enough to come forward".
While frontline staff were described as "doing their utmost to provide safe and effective care" for patients across parts of Hampshire as well as Kent, Sussex and Surrey, it was the leaders who were described by inspectors as "out of touch" and not always aware of the challenges their staff faced.
The CQC said:
The inspection was undertaken after CQC received a high number of whistleblowing concerns relating to culture and leadership, including inappropriate sexualised behaviour, bullying and harassment, leaving staff feeling scared to speak out, and a failure by the trust leadership team to address concerns raised.But while staff were doing their very best to provide safe care to patients, leaders often appeared out of touch with what was happening on the front line and weren’t always aware of the challenges staff faced. Staff described feeling unable to raise concerns without fear of reprisal - and when concerns were raised, these were not acted on. This meant that some negative aspects of the organisational culture, including bullying and harassment and inappropriate sexualised behaviour, were not addressed and became normalised behaviours."
The findings mean the trust will receive the "highest level of support" to improve its leadership. It has been given an action plan it must carry out to make it improvements. Inspectors in this latest visit have rated the emergency operation centre and NHS 111 as "good overall".
The CQC has suspended the overall ratings for the trust while it carries out further checks. The last inspection in July 2019, rated the trust good in all five areas.
Amanda Williams, CQC’s director of integrated care, said: “We carried out this inspection of South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust in response to concerns raised with us around culture and leadership.
'Fear of reprisal'
”Our inspectors found that staff on the front line were doing their utmost to provide safe and effective care and treatment of patients across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. They were doing a good job, especially in light of the additional pressures on the service caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But while staff were doing their very best to provide safe care to patients, leaders often appeared out of touch with what was happening on the front line and weren’t always aware of the challenges staff faced. Staff described feeling unable to raise concerns without fear of reprisal - and when concerns were raised, these were not acted on.
"This meant that some negative aspects of the organisational culture, including bullying and harassment and inappropriate sexualised behaviour, were not addressed and became normalised behaviours. I want to praise those staff who were brave enough to come forward, as speaking up in these circumstances is not easy, but it is important that it happens.
“There was a clear disconnect between leaders and staff, leading to a poor and unsupportive culture, As a result, the leadership for the trust as a whole has been rated inadequate, while the emergency operation centre, and NHS 111, was rated as good overall.
“It’s clear the trust needs help to ensure significant improvements in leadership are put in place to give hardworking staff the support they need and deserve to deliver good care. I am therefore recommending to NHS England and Improvement that South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust should be placed in segment four of the system oversight framework and receive additional support via the recovery support programme.
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