Fearful culture for doctors, union finds

Prof Philip Banfield has spoken to about 60 Manx doctors

Doctors on the Isle of Man are living in an unsafe and fearful culture, a medical union representative has said.

Prof Philip Banfield from the British Medical Association spoke with about 60 island doctors after the outcome of the Rosalind Ranson tribunal.

He said he was "struck by the culture of fear that they have about speaking up".

"That's an unsafe culture to have within your healthcare system," he added.

After speaking to the "considerable proportion" of the workforce, Prof Banfield said they were "quite universal in saying that they felt unengaged and undervalued".

'Doctors being ignored'

Whistleblower Dr Ranson was awarded more than £3m in compensation following the tribunal earlier this year.

But Prof Banfield said: "Ultimately this is not about the payout, this is about professional doctors being ignored.

"This reflects not just the culture within the workplace but sadly, from the findings from the tribunal, it reflects the culture within your political system."

Prof Banfield said the situation came after "years of not investing enough within health and social care".

"The Isle of Man needs to take a good, hard, long look at itself on how it has handled not just Dr Ranson's case but how it intends to make services safe in the future," he said.

Alfred Cannan said a number of changes have already been made to whistleblowing policies

This week Chief Minister Alfred Cannan apologised to Dr Ranson for her treatment.

He said the government had "already been strengthening [its] whistleblowing procedures" and had set up a "direct integrity line".

Mr Cannan explained that an overhaul and review of the human resources department had taken place, to be "published in due course".

A new operations performance board has been created and senior executive posts had been reviewed, he added.

In a statement Manx Care said "developing a positive working culture" was one of its "key priorities".

It said it was working to make sure all staff felt "psychologically safe and supported to raise any concerns that they have".

The Department of Health and Social Care said all public servants had a “duty” to raise concerns and should “have confidence that they can do so without the fear of comeback or reprisal”.

The government had strengthened its processes for reporting wrongdoing over the past year and had created new integrity concerns to be raised anonymously where felt necessary, it said.

The DHSC was “concerned” about the issues raised by Prof Banfield and would welcome the opportunity to discuss them with him and the BMA, it added.