Hospital complaint/feedback help

[LaLoba]

Hi Feminism chat, I’m exhausted with cancer treatment on top of a chronic illness which causes fatigue, so please be patient if I’m not as coherent as I should be.

During radiotherapy today a male radiotherapist who was not part of my treatment team walked in on me undressed, and just stared at me, I had to tell him twice to leave. This was especially upsetting as I’d disclosed childhood abuse to the cancer team, in order to be clear that I wanted female professionals only.

Everything about his behaviour said it wasn’t an accident, and both my husband and I had noticed him staring at me before I went in for treatment. This has triggered some upsetting emotions, and I would rather run away quietly, but the team responsible for me seemed quite keen for me to complain, and I feel a duty to speak up as I know all to well how silence protects this kind of man.

Anyway, the part I was hoping for help with was the bit of the form which asks for comments in relation to protected characteristics under the equality act - I feel sure I should be able to word this, but am exhausted to a level that’s affecting my cognitive function.

I’m in tears here, don’t know if it’s the fatigue, CPTSD or just the last few months of treatment etc, but I do know I was doing ok with it all until today. Any help with the words from the mighty brains of the feminism board would be greatly appreciated.

Oh you poor thing, that's a really upsetting and confusing thing to have happened, especially at an already vulnerable time.

I assume the PC has to be sex, but I'm unsure how to word it. Hopefully someone good with words comes along soon with suggestions.

I'm sorry this happened. It's shit . Forgive me, but are you saying the Male radiographer was presenting as female / non-conforming?

In which case I would explicitly explain that the individual was male bodied and cite the equality act - which allows single sex spaces and emphasise that you had requested to be treated by female sexed staff only. It is about your privacy and dignity, not those of a staff member.

No, he wasn’t presenting as anything other than male. It’s not a trans issue, it’s more a straightforward male barging into a room where he knew there would be an undressed woman. My team agreed that he would have known he shouldn’t have walked in.

So you have two protected characteristics:

1. Your sex. You are female and have the right to single sex spaces, treatment by people of your own sex, and freedom from harassment.

1. Your disability. It may be temporary, but if it adversely affects your ability to perform day to day activities, it is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

You might also refer to their Patient Charter and your entitlement to respect and dignity. Feel free to cut and paste. Let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks for the replies. That’s pretty much what I was looking for, justcly, thank you!

I can't help with what to write, but I just wanted to offer a handhold and solidarity to you.

I'm so sorry this happened to you.
I started a thread in the summer about how I was so grateful for being given an all women surgical team, for reasons similar to yours (as an adult)

I was incredibly lucky, I know that.
I hope this all gets sorted out for you.

I wish you nothing but the best, be kind to yourself

finnmcool I have felt the same, I have been cared for by some wonderful women these last few months. Tomorrow is my last day of radiotherapy, I was looking forward to telling the oncologist what a great difference the radiotherapists have made to my ability to keep plodding on.
I still will do that, but thanks to the creepy man today I’ll be complaining too. He’s kind of crapped all over an otherwise very positive experience.

Congratulations on your last session tomorrow!

I completely understand how that arsehole has tainted your otherwise, positive experience.
Once you've got through your session tomorrow and you've made your complaint, try not to give that waster to much brain space (easier said than done, I know)

I hope your future recovery goes really well and if you need support for the triggers he pushed, get it. You are clearly a very strong woman and he's just a shit stain on the pavement of life!

*too

That incident sounds very distressing and scary, LaLoba

Very suspect behaviour and a good job you were not alone..

It is bad enough that a male Radiotherapist was involved in your care against your express wishes but what makes it so much worse is the very inappropriate, worrying and upsetting conduct of that particular Radiotherapist.

A Radiotherapist is a Radiographer, so is regulated by the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) in the UK.

From both working in the NHS and also having to make a complaint about seriously inappropriate conduct by a male member of staff towards me as a patient, I would be inclined to make a complaint to the HCPC as well as to the hospital if you feel up to it.

The Radiographer is likely to claim that it was a mistake of some sort that he entered the room.

However, his entering the room is only part of the issue.

The other aspects are:

• that if he was a member of the team caring for you, he should have known that he would not personally be involved in your care

(if he claims that he was not informed then this should be investigated by the HCPC to determine whether this really was a "system error" or if there is evidence that he was informed)

• if he was not part of the team involved with your care, that he was nevertheless observed to take an unnecessary interest in you and then followed you (?) into the room

• that both you and your husband noticed, and were unsettled by, his peculiar staring at you before you went in for treatment

• that when he entered and you were in a state of undress that he neither apologised nor explained why he had entered the room

(if he really thought he ought to be there then he should have explained why he had entered the room; if he entered by mistake then he should have immediately apologised and then immediately left the room without having to be asked)

• that he then did not leave immediately when asked but had to be asked twice before he left

(you do not mention if he apologised or gave any explanation, if he did then was the apology and/or explanation adequate or believable? Was his conduct also odd when he was in the room? If he just stood and stared then that would definitely be inappropriate and very worrying.)

If you want to check out the HCPC process for raising a concern:

www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns/

This is the starting point for raising a concern:

www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns/raising-concerns/public/

There is a lot of other information on the HCPC site, eg.
www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns/resources/

1/2

2/2

Something to bear in mind is that an employer can only investigate the actions of an employee, so if the Radiotherapist were to leave this employment then the NHS Trust would be unable to pursue an investigation into his conduct. However, the HCPC would not drop a case just because someone left their job.

Both the employer and the Radiographer should inform the HCPC of any investigations that touch on "Fitness to Practice" issues, ie. in breach of HCPC Standards:

www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-conduct-performance-and-ethics/

If you want to check whether your Radiographer has at any time been reported to the HCPC and the case passed on to the HCP Tribunals Service (HCPTS) there is a list here (if you cannot remember his name but might recognise it, select "Radiographer" in the Drop down menu for "Profession" ):

www.hcpts-uk.org/hearings/search/

However, if the employer sees this as a "system problem" then the only way the HCPC would know about it is if you or your husband raised a concern with them.

The NHS Trust should inform you that you can have support with your complaint from PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service):
www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/nhs-services-and-treatments/what-is-pals-patient-advice-and-liaison-service/

There is also information on that PALS page about how to find your local PALS and about other ways to raise a complaint.

Making complaints is probably the last thing you want to have to deal with at the moment. However, if you can find the energy then it might help you to recover from the shock and the insult to your dignity.

Both PALS and the HCPC are usually very supportive and sympathetic. The HCPC investigates very thoroughly and, if it refers a case to the HCPTS, it is worth noting the HCPTS policy on Sanctions:

"Sanctions are not intended to punish registrants, but instead ensure the public is protected. Inevitably, a sanction may be punitive in effect, but should not be imposed simply for that purpose."

The HCPTS will review the registrant's progress to determine whether the Sanction has proved effective and, if not, then what further sanctions might be required. However, in more serious cases the sanctions are more serious:

If a panel finds a registrant’s fitness to practise to be impaired, it can:
- refer a case for mediation;
- take no action;
- impose a caution order;
- impose a conditions of practice order;
- impose a suspension order;
or strike the registrant off the Register.

(The last two mean that the person would be disqualified from practicing in the UK under the relevant "protected title", such as "Radiographer", either temporarily or "long term". "Long term" means that if someone is "struck off" they cannot apply to have their registration restored for at least five years.)

This policy document goes into fine detail about Sanctions:

www.hcpts-uk.org/globalassets/resources/policy/sanctions-policy.pdf

Once a complaint (NHS) or concern (HCPC) have been raised then the gears can sometimes grind rather slow.

If you feel with the NHS or HCPC/HCPTS (if relevant) that things seem to be drifting, it is very reasonable to ask for an update on progress and when you might expect to be contacted again.

I hope this information is helpful and all best wishes for your treatment and improvements in your health

Write to PALs and / head of hospital trust.

No-one male or female should enter the room, regardless of your background, without consent. And especially not twice.

Congratulations on your last session!

Chances are if he has done it to you, he has done it to others, and it sounds like the team are aware of this.

LaLoba Im horrified that this has happened to you.

As others have suggested, do get in touch with PALS to support you with this serious Safeguarding failure. You do not & should not have to shoulder the additional pressure of this alone when you are already dealing with so much.
If you have a CNS it would also be wholly within their remit to take this forward with/for you.

I’ve been very tired after finishing treatment, have just come back to this.

MoleSmokes you’ve articulated very well what was wrong with the whole situation. Especially this part:

- if he was not part of the team involved with your care, that he was nevertheless observed to take an unnecessary interest in you and then followed you (?) into the room
It felt planned, and the fact that we noticed he seemed to want to follow me in, but waited until my husband had gone back to the waiting room to do so, coupled with his odd behaviour when I objected to him being there (he said nothing at all, just stood and stared), makes me feel this was no mistake.

I raised it at my at of treatment review yesterday, the senior radiographer was sympathetic and apologetic. She was in agreement that it should not have happened and assured me she will take action - but is indeed going down the system error and “honest mistake” route. The “systems” don’t need fixing, everyone else behaved with professionalism. One individual is disregarding every code of practice/standards around.

I can’t in all conscience leave this, he was so brazen that I can’t possibly be the first. But I’ll be needing some recovery time before I can face this next task. I expect I’ll be cutting and pasting your post if that’s ok, you’ve cut to the specific issues excellently.

We don’t have PALs here in Wales, but I’ve found a link to what looks like an equivalent.

Redonion123 the reactions of his colleagues, including the woman who sat in on my review, very much point towards him being a known problem. I am fucking tired, but I am more fucking tired of a lifetime of seeing men like this get away with it in plain sight. I can’t be silent ever again.

ROwantrees is CNS a clinical specialist nurse? As in the Breast Care nurse? I do have one, and she is formidable, if this is in her remit I would be very relieved to have her in my corner.,

*my end of treatment review, not at of. Foggy brain!

And I forgot to say thank you all for the support. I’ve lurked on Feminism for a long time (it first brought me to MN), but never dared join in. Thank you so much.

I'd echo what redonion123 says; and get PALS to help you. It's possible that they need some good evidence to pursue this person.

is CNS a clinical specialist nurse? As in the Breast Care nurse? I do have one, and she is formidable, if this is in her remit I would be very relieved to have her in my corner.

Yes it is.
Its impacted your safety & wellbeing. Getting to grips with hospital Safeguarding policy & the reporting process will be additional unneccesary distress whilst you are recovering from treatment.

So glad you have one & also that yours is formidable- many are & I was lucky that mine was too!
My advice would be to put it all to one side & call her when you're ready. [tea]

Good luck. Really hope you have the strength to deal with this. Horrid predatory man.

apologies, I meant to send

LaLoba It is even more disturbing than I realised - I misunderstood and thought that your husband was with you in the treatment room when this guy walked in on you.

Definitely get support from the Wales NHS equivalent of PALS.

However, from what you have said in your follow-up post I would strongly recommend that you consider raising a concern with the HCPC.

The HCPC would inform the Registrant and the employer that a concern has been raised. This might result in the employer putting any action under Disciplinary or Performance Procedures "on hold" until the HCPC has made a decision. However, if this is being dealt with as a "systems problem" then, depending on the HCPC decision, the employer might be forced to deal with this under the Disciplinary Procedure (as a Conduct issue) or under Performance Improvement procedures.

The HCPC would anyway be meticulous in seeking to establish whether or not there is a "systems issue", in order to determine whether or not it would progress a concern as arising from a Registrant's breach of Standards.

If the HCPC believes that there is a "systems issue", rather than or in addition to a Professional issue, then the HCPC would report this back to the employer with recommendations to improve the system. The HCPC does not pull its punches when it finds that an employer is at fault and inadequate systems or supervision put the public at risk.

You are welcome to copy and paste whatever you think would be helpful from my posts.

I have had dealings in the past with the HCPC in both a Professional and Trade Union capacity (not a personal capacity). The HCPC remit is to protect the public and it has active involvement of lay members of the public as part of its statutory structure. It has no remit or agenda to protect the employer.

An NHS Trust has a corporate responsibility to protect its reputation and assets. To give you an idea of what this means in practice: the standard Risk Assessment process for a Trust where I worked rated "the worst thing that could happen" as "a Question is raised in the House (about a death) and is reported in the Press", ie. rather than the death of a patient itself.

If, as you suspect, this guy has already shown problematic behaviour and other staff have been concerned then there clearly is a "systems problem" in that it has not been dealt with adequately. That does not absolve the Registrant from failing to meet HCPC standards.

Taking this outside the Trust might well be a great relief to other staff. They might have been dissuaded by the employer from raising a concern with the HCPC themselves, ie. on the basis of a reassurance that "it is being dealt with".

Everything else being equal, I would expect that raising a concern with the HCPC would be less stressful than raising a complaint through the NHS system.

Two caveats: Trusts differ in how well they deal with complaints and your Trust might be better than average; in this particular case the Trust might already have reached "tipping point" with this individual so the issue might be resolved more quickly than an HCPC concern.

And a final reminder: if this guy gets wind that a Disciplinary Procedure might be in the offing then he could just up sticks and move on with an unblemished record. The Trust might even give him a glowing reference to get rid a problem about to blow up.

Only the HCPC can hold him accountable wherever he works. It would still look at the systems currently in place in the Trust even after he has moved on. However, if the only "red flag" is an NHS Complaint then the Trust might be tempted to "blame the bad apple" - leaving a weak procedural and supervisory system vulnerable to exploitation by the next "bad apple".

So sorry this has happened to you. I hope you get a satisfactory resolution.

Well done on following up with a complaint. It's not an easy thing to do as everyone will want to believe it's an honest mistake but we know the difference.

I hope your treatment continues to go well