THE new boss of East Yorkshire's hospitals has promised to weed out bullies making life a misery for NHS staff.
Chris Long, who took over as chief executive of Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust last week, will address staff tomorrow after about 500 people came forward to report bullying at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham.
Conciliation service ACAS was called in by trust bosses after staff complained of bullying to inspectors from the Care Quality Commission earlier this year.
ACAS staff reported many workers were in tears as they recounted their experiences at the hands of bullies.
Now, Mr Long, who spent 12 years in the infantry before joining the NHS, says disciplinary action and training will be options for people guilty of bullying and an anti-bullying group will be set up for staff to report concerns.
Mr Long said: "There is clearly a culture of bullying within the organisation and we have probably only just started to wake up to that fact.
"We just need to be clear – not everyone in this organisation is a bully or has been bullied. But bullies will not be tolerated."
Mr Long, appointed chief executive of the trust following the departure of Phil Morley weeks before CQC inspectors brought the bullying problem to light, said staff will be given clear standards of behaviour.
"This is not just about sending people on courses," he said.
"We will be really clear about standards that are acceptable. It is not acceptable to bawl people out in public and that will cease.
"We also need to make people more aware of their actions and remove the fear of either reporting bullying or challenging bullying."
Staff will be invited to hear about the trust's action plan to tackle bullying tomorrow at the hospital's lecture theatre in the grounds of Hull Royal, with a live link-up for staff in Castle Hill.
Tackling the problem in the hospital's Emergency Department is also a priority for the new boss, who spent part of his first week working alongside emergency staff.
In recent weeks, patients have been forced to wait 11 hours on hospital trolleys and use sick bowls to get washed in after both hospitals ran out of beds.
Mr Long said: "We have to get to grips with emergency care in the organisation. Despite the best efforts of people, we have lost the plot and we need to get it back."
Mr Long also promised tough action on waiting times for planned operations.
"We have too many specialist patients having to wait too long for operations. We need to recover that position and get ourselves back to the service I would want to have for my family," he said.
Mr Long said he had firsthand experience of the dedication of staff working at both hospitals before anyone knew he would be their boss.
"Almost exactly a year ago, I was driving along Willerby and I had a heart attack," he said.
"The treatment I received at the roadside and the care and compassion the ambulance crews showed me was second to none."
Mr Long was rushed to Hull Royal before undergoing a primary angioplasty at Castle Hill.
He said: "Doctors were incredibly knowledgeable and reassuring, the nurses were hugely skilled and caring and the food was fantastic.
"You never think you would describe having a heart attack as a positive experience but it was and the things I learned about the quality of services here were just brilliant."
System broke downChris Long's message to patients caught up in the recent crisis at Hull Royal Infirmary's emergency department:I'm sorry. The system broke down and it shouldn't have. Yes, there was a lot of demand but that's no excuse for the dreadful things that were done to people.
We have a new department opening and extra temporary beds. We have some really good people working on changing and managing to make it more effective.
Thank you. You have done a brilliant job. We probably haven't been as open about expressing our thanks and appreciation as we should have been, but I am really grateful.
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