Whistleblower says career shattered by treatment

Rosalind Ranson was awarded a record £3.19m pay out after a lengthy tribunal

A former top medic on the Isle of Man who was unfairly dismissed has said her career has been "shattered" by her treatment.

Rosalind Ranson was the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) medical director from January 2020.

She was awarded a record £3.19m in compensation after a lengthy tribunal which ruled she had been unfairly dismissed for whistleblowing.

Dr Ranson said: "This has been a traumatic few years... I personally paid a huge price."

Dr Ranson raised a number of serious concerns about the coronavirus advice on the island that was not being passed on to ministers.

She was later marginalised before being dismissed as the island's top medic when the operational services of DHSC transitioned into Manx Care.

'Reputation destroyed'

Dr Ranson said: "For me it is a tragedy that my 35-year career in medicine has come to an end through these circumstances.

"I was proud of my professional integrity, my resilience, and my strength to stand up for those that I protected through my work as a doctor."

As well as the total award of £3,198,754, the DHSC must pay 70% of Dr Ranson’s legal costs, which are still being assessed.

But the medic said the personal loss had outweighed the financial gain.

She said: "I had so much more to give and so much more that I wanted to achieve, but those hopes are at an end."

"My health has suffered, my reputation destroyed, my career shattered."

The British Medical Association, which supported Dr Ranson during the tribunal, said the awarding of both aggravated and exemplary damages was "exceptionally rare", and the union hoped "some good will follow from this case".

A government spokesman said the health minister would make a statement about the decision of the Employment and Equality Tribunal in Tynwald once the case had closed.