The Christie: NHS bosses targeted me for raising concerns, nurse says

Rebecca Wight is suing The Christie for constructive dismissal

A senior nurse said she was targeted by NHS managers after she raised concerns about a colleague that she alleged had implications for patient safety.

Rebecca Wight said she and colleagues repeatedly asked bosses to address alleged failings by a nurse at The Christie cancer hospital in Manchester.

"I didn't realise [speaking out] would cause such distress and such detriment to my life," she told BBC Newsnight.

The Christie said it was "grateful" Ms Wight had raised concerns three times.

Ms Wight, who worked at The Christie for nearly a decade, said patients were "unwell for longer than they should have been".

"I think people were left at home when they should have been in hospital," she said.

"They weren't getting the right care because [the nurse she had concerns about] didn't have the right experience."

Ms Wight is now suing The Christie for constructive dismissal.

In a statement, The Christie said it was "clear" that Ms Wight raised "some legitimate concerns and that, by raising them, enabled improvements in the service to be made".

"On each occasion, the concerns were taken very seriously, fully investigated, acted upon and she was informed of actions taken," a representative said.

"We regularly report potential patient safety matters to our public board and constantly strive to improve our system, including ensuring that those who raise concerns receive timely feedback."

They said investigations by the trust which runs the hospital had shown no patients had been harmed as a result of the nurse's actions.

'Me versus them'

However, the Nursing and Midwifery Council is carrying out a full investigation.

It would have the power to issue sanctions against the nurse who Ms Wight raised concerns about - including striking her off the register if serious wrongdoing is proven.

The trust is co-operating fully with that investigation.

Ms Wight, who now works at a different NHS site, said she was constantly asked by the trust what she hoped to gain by raising concerns.

She said she was asked to go into mediation with her colleague, who reported her for alleged bullying.

"I was under investigation for four months for supposedly bullying somebody when actually all I was trying to do was improve patient care," she said.

Ms Wight said that investigation concluded that she had not bullied her colleague.

Regulators found "a minority of staff" at the Christie "expressed reservations about raising concerns"

She added that her forthcoming employment tribunal looked like "a battle between me and The Christie", despite what she had set out to do originally.

"This was always about just improving and advocating and making sure that patients were safe," she said.

"Yet somehow it's ended up as me versus them."

The Christie was recently downgraded by regulators, who criticised its workplace culture and said staff "did not always feel supported and valued".

In May, the Care Quality Commission said "very senior executives" were heavily invested in the "promotion and protection of the trust's reputation", which "impacted negatively on some staff".

"A minority of staff expressed reservations about raising concerns and others did not always feel listened to," the regulator added.

'Level playing field'

Patient safety advocate Helene Donnelly said Ms Wight's experience had echoes of her own experience of trying to raise concerns about the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust more than a decade ago.

The failings at Stafford Hospital are now considered one of the biggest scandals in the history of the NHS, with years of abuse and neglect at the hospital leading to the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of patients.

In 2009, a report by the Healthcare Commission condemned "appalling" standards of care and reported there had been at least 400 more deaths than expected between 2005 and 2008.

Ms Donnelly said there had been "lots of different inquiries... and reviews that focus specifically on listening to your staff", but "clearly that wasn't happening".

She added it was "very worrying to think that this is still going on".

An NHS England representative said it was "absolutely vital that concerns raised by staff are acted on".

"Every trust is expected to adopt an updated national Freedom To Speak Up policy and we have asked them to urgently ensure staff have easy access to information on how they can raise concerns," they said.

The idea of a national register for NHS managers, with similar powers to those held by the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council in relation to doctors and nurses, was recommended in a 2018 review which looked at how effective the so-called fit and proper person test was at preventing the re-employment of unsuitable staff.

The review, led by barrister Tom Kark KC, recommended setting up a body with "the power to bar directors where serious misconduct is proved", but the recommendation has so far not been accepted by government.

However, the idea was raised again following the conviction of nurse Lucy Letby, whose murder trial heard allegations that managers ignored clinicians' concerns about the serial killer.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay later said that in light of that evidence "and ongoing variation in performance across trusts", he had asked NHS England to work with the Department of Health to "revisit" the recommendation.

Sir Robert Francis, who led the Mid-Staffs inquiry, said the time had come "for that to be considered very seriously".

He said if NHS executives did not treat whistle-blowers correctly, it raised an issue about "whether they are fit and proper people".

He added that there should be "a level playing field between managers and healthcare professionals in relation to regulation".

Additional reporting by Charlotte Rowles and Emily O'Sullivan.

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