Birmingham NHS trust sacks staff after sexual harassment claims

The sackings follow investigations into a culture of bullying and fear at the trust

A hospital trust has dismissed three members of staff following complaints of sexual harassment.

The sackings by University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust were revealed at the launch of its sexual safety charter on Monday.

Sexual safety was one of the areas highlighted in a review of the trust's culture.

UHB said sexism, misogyny and sexual harassment would not be tolerated in the workplace.

The trust has been subject to three enquiries following a BBC investigation into its culture.

The second of these investigations, by Prof Mike Bewick, identified a new line of inquiry into allegations of misogynistic behaviour and sexual harassment.

Prof Bewick said the trust had begun formal investigations and there was a widening of the scope of the enquiry to accommodate the sensitive nature of these concerns.

The trust declined to say whether the three dismissals equated to three cases identified by the professor.

The trust runs Queen Elizabeth, Good Hope, Heartlands and Solihull hospitals

Dr Ravi Kumar, whose daughter Vaish left a note blaming her suicide on the QE Hospital where she worked, said the chief people officer told him one case was referred to the police.

UHB said it could not comment on individual cases and added: "Sexism and misogyny and sexual harassment is not okay and will not be tolerated at University Hospital Birmingham.

"The trust board has endorsed the sexual safety charter at the launch of an internal campaign to make it absolutely clear that there is no place for these behaviours. "

UHB said it would continue to root out the unacceptable behaviours and encouraged colleagues to come forward to raise their concerns.

West Midlands Police said, without any identifiable information, it could not identify a specific case.