Cambridge: Racism, gossip and stress claims at NHS unit

Whistleblowers from the Cambridge Rehabilitation Unit claimed patients were left in bed all day without therapy

An NHS rehabilitation unit accused of "covering up issues" also faced allegations of racism, gossip and bad attitudes, documents have revealed.

The 36-bed Cambridge Rehabilitation Unit (CRU) is an inpatient facility where whistleblowing complaints were raised about bullying.

Staff session papers showed allegations that "racism was identified in one group as something that must stop".

The trust that runs CRU said discrimination would not be tolerated.

The BBC previously reported documents related to whistleblowing claims that alleged management bullied staff who flagged concerns about shortages and unsafe practice.

The new documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, relate to staff sessions that took place between October and December last year.

CRU (not pictured) is a 36-bed unit split into two sections

One of the sections under the heading "things to stop" was "poor behaviours (including racism and gossip)".

The document's author said: "Bad attitude, negative behaviours also came up in almost every session as something everyone must stop.

"'It's not my patient' came up in this conversation too, around how this stems from a poor attitude.

"Racism was identified in one group as something that must stop and gossip was mentioned in nearly every session.

"Unhelpful talking about people with some clear examples of where gossip had really hurt people. The sense is its not from everyone - but the few with regular poor behaviours effect everyone.

"Other words used were stop - guilt, anger, fear, criticism, ego, laziness, jealousy, cliques, sniping and comments behind backs."

In a section about stress, the report said: "There was a sense of overwhelm, people mentioned the fear of failing, of not being able to take breaks (and jealousy when others could)."

Staff also reported feeling a "pressure to admit" patients.

"They felt the ward takes anyone it's given, even when its not always suitable and is far from rehab", the document noted.

A spokesman for the trust said: "We held a series of listening exercises with colleagues at the Cambridge Rehabilitation Unit to better understand the issues staff were experiencing.

"A number of important issues including the acuity of patients they are being asked to care for, and the ongoing difficulties of providing support and treatment while services remain under extreme strain, were shared.

"They also raised serious concerns about behaviour and any form of discrimination is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

"The improvement programme - co-designed with staff - is continuing and we thank colleagues for being so open and honest about their experiences and for the ongoing dedication they show to our patients."