A TOP clinician has lifted the lid on the bullying culture and intimidation of staff at a crisis-hit hospitals trust.
Dr Farqad Alamgir says he was so disheartened with the state of morale at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, his only choice was to leave and speak out.
Dr Alamgir says anything regarded as 'disloyalty' or 'against the trust's agenda' was not only frowned upon, but saw people being verbally abused.
Dr Alamgir, who worked as a cardiologist with the trust for about 20 years, quit this year. Awarded an MBE for his outstanding work with the NHS, he is now living and working in Saudi Arabia.
"When you raised concerns, you were told bad behaviour resulted in bad consequences," he said.
"There was a total disregard to what was happening and we were considered disloyal if we didn't come into line with trust policy.
"The focus was on targets and achieving foundation status for the trust - not patient care and patient safety. Anyone who spoke out was regarded as a troublemaker."
Dr Alamgir was mainly based at the trust's Castle Hill Hospital site, in Cottingham.
The trust also manages Hull Royal Infirmary and inspectors from the Care Quality Commission visited both hospitals earlier this year.
In their inspection report published in May, they said there was a "culture of bullying" in some departments.
Since then, the trust has sought the services of ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) to help address the issue.
An anti-bullying tsar, director of medical education Dr Makani Purva, has also been appointed in a bid to tackle the problem.
But Dr Alamgir claims staff are still afraid to approach ACAS about their concerns, because their fear of bullying managers is so deeply embedded.
He said: "People are telling me they are still afraid to talk to ACAS.
"It is very, very unfortunate what is happening and I can only hope things start to change soon.
"The trust is losing some good people because of this and the only way they would return would be if something fundamental was to change.
"I was told if I went public and spoke to the media I would be disciplined, so they only thing for me to do was to quit and speak out."
It is also believed Wendy Noble, a consultant gynaecologist at Hull Women and Children's Hospital, left her role because serious concerns were ignored. However, the Mail was unable to contact her.
Prof Ian Philp, chief medical officer for the trust, said: "The issue of bullying is one which we have accepted and are now actively trying to tackle.
"We know this problem is not something that can be reversed overnight, but we have taken some significant steps to help us do this.
"A small number of senior doctors have left the trust in the last year for a variety of reasons, including some who have secured new career opportunities in the Middle East and elsewhere.
"At the same time, we have recruited high-quality consultants to work at the trust over this period, including some from overseas who have been attracted to the opportunity to work in this organisation because of its potential to deliver great care for patients."
'You could not wish to meet a nicer, more caring doctor'
East Riding councillor Mike Whitehead worked as a manager at the hospitals Trust and says losing Dr Alamgir is a sad blow for the region.
He said: "Dr Alamgir is a highly skilled interventional cardiologist with an international reputation.
"He was recently awarded the MBE for his service to cardiology.
"I am saddened by his departure, as you could not wish to meet a nicer, more caring doctor.
"But the real shame is that he is yet another consultant to leave the trust in recent months.
We cannot afford to lose any more experienced consultants, let alone ones with the skills of this man.
"The interim chief executive of Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has promised to stop the brain drain and stamp out bullying, but this is not a good start."
