Royal College of Nursing: Colchester hospital report 'shocking'

An NHS hospital trust in Essex has been reported to police, after staff complained they were bullied into covering up delays to treatment for cancer patients at Colchester Hospital, to make it appear it was meeting nationally-set targets.

The Care Quality Commission said inspectors visited the trust in August and September after receiving complaints about waiting times for cancer treatment and found "inaccuracies" with waiting time data.

Peter Carter of the Royal College of Nursing said the ''shocking'' discovery had lifted the lid on a culture of a long-standing bullying towards staff.