NHS worker friend and her work environment

[Rudicoolcat]

Over several glasses of wine recently, a very good friend confided that at a recent team meeting she, and her colleagues, were encouraged by senior staff to email in confidence any concerns that they had regarding the ward. Apparently part of new initiatives. She did, after careful thought she said, and amongst her concerns were the lazy attitude of some of her colleagues, and I think borderline neglectful behaviour. Members of her team agreed with all her comments, but apparently felt unable to email themselves. Didn't want to be "that person".

Evidently, a member of the team was spoken to and concluded that someone had indeed e-mailed and systematically interrogated each of her colleagues to establish who 'told tales'. Surely this can't be right. Intimidating behaviour I think and what happened to confidentiality?

My friend is an honest and hardworking person devoted to her work and responsibilities, so I worry about any potential comeback for her.

Unfortunately this is an inevitable consequence of doing things 'anonymously'

All staff know anonymous feedback was asked for.

Some staff now have realised that at least one person has given negative feedback.

Unless managers were incredibly careful in what they shared (and they often aren't) it can be easy to narrow down who gave the feedback to a couple of suspects.

Your friend should leave for a different team as soon as possible. She has also learned a lesson that anonymous feedback rarely is.

This doesn't sound at all right. As an NHS nurse I know that people rarely put their heads above the parapet as you really are alone. Having said that if your friend is a registered professional she has an obligation to report borderline neglectful behaviour.
Very dodgy ground.

This doesn't surprise. The managers can get in trouble for this. If anything happens or she suffers a detriment, she may be able to bring a claim for whistle blowing. The trust should have a raising concerns guardian.

I have a friend in the NHS and this seems to be how they go about things.
Her team were also asked to email any concerns they had about the team.
My friend who works hard did so and identified some on her team who were not pulling their weight.
Her manager forwarded my friend's email to the individuals that she had spoken about!
The NHS managers have not got a clue.

I work in a supermarket and we are made to fill in a colleague voice questionnaire every year, apparently anonymous but you have to login with your name to partake and one of my colleagues was pulled up before for what they put. It's a load of garbage.

Ive worked in a few different NHS roles and so have all of my immediate family at one time or another in different organisations, mixture of clinical and non clinical.

What you described sadly doesn't surprise me at all. I hope your friend is in a union.

The culture in the NHS is really shit isn't it?

This ignites bullying/intimidation.

Her manager forwarded my friend's email to the individuals that she had spoken about!

This is so NHS.

I had to have a 360 appraisal. Yes, all the feedback is anonymous but if you write about a specific incident when only 2 or 3 people were there, I will be able to identify who bitched about me.

Working relationships ruined until I got out to another job.

You never raise your head above the parapet in the NHS. Experience says the messenger gets shot and the bad practice is ignored.

Whistle blowing in the NHS rarely turns out well for the whistle blower, sadly. However, knowing about an issue and not raising a concern, rarely works out well for the patients. You have to weigh up your conscience and decide what you can live with

Thanks all for your responses. Sad isn't it when grown ups resort to play ground tactics of intimidating behaviour and bullying others to get them on 'their' side.

My work experience was one of regular appraisals, where positive and on occasion negative discussions were held, but it was handled like adults.

But there doesn't seem to be an appraisal culture in her department. One of her colleagues mentioned that this type of behaviour would have been nipped in the bud if regular appraisals were held, but they'd not had one for more than six years!!!

I'm not sure if she's in a union (never had cause to ask before), but interested to hear that there is a guardian service and she might be able to make a claim if she suffers any detriment.

I agree that her working relationships will have been negatively affected and she said herself that it feels like the camaraderie has changed, but said others feel too intimidated to speak up with her, some even trying to make it a bit of a joke, for the sake of a shift without the hassle of dealing with said person.

All I can offer is wine, a shoulder to cry on and ears to bend. I'm grateful for the more practical guidance I'm getting here.

Yeah sounds right DH refuses to provide any anonymous feedback because he's heard similar stories

Standard NHS. Nothing is anonymous.

A team where no-one has had appraisals for 6 years is one to get out of.

A manager of steel can reintroduce appraisals but for at least 3 years the whole team will kick off as they aren't used to it.

Someone in senior management will be well aware this team is awful but is either mates with the team boss, or waiting for them to leave/retire.

If she is in the NHS she absolutely needs to join a union.

I thought my membership subs were a waste of money until overnight they were vital.

My Trust would destroy me if I didn’t do appraisals! Once a week we are all named and shamed with our percentages for supervision and appraisals!

Aside from that I’m a firm believer that anonymous is never that.

We are urged to take things to the freedom to speak up guardian and I would urge your friend to approach them. Every trust should have one. This isn’t an acceptable response from management.

I’m always concerned with teams though where people don’t raise concerns with their line manager immediately. When things are allowed to fester, teams get damaged! This does rely on teams having effective managers though, I’m aware that often isn’t the case!!

Management behaved badly in encouraging this without proper measures in place to deal with anything that arises though!

She does need to join a union but I'd also advise she find her Freedom to Speak Up guardian within the Trust who should be able to support her and maintain her anonymity. There are some dreadful cultures in some parts of the NHS.

@Doyouthinktheyknow
@Allthecatseverywhereallatonce
@AnnaMagnani @Lavenderflower Thank you for your positive encouragement.
I will encourage my friend to urgently reach out to the guardian service for her Trust.

I never thought I'd see my friend in such a state and that she'd feel so awful for speaking up with the truth. She truly tries her hardest every day, as do most of her colleagues for the patients. It's the few that spoil it for the many isn't it?t It seems that honest, hardworking reliable whistle blowers in the NHS have their integrity and professional approach scrutinised whilst the lazy and unprofessional seem to float about the organisation untouchable. Moved sideways or upwards probably...?

It would be such a shame if she left the NHS and a job she adores because of this juvenile apathetic attitude.

I'm going to speak to her tonight. Thanks all xx

I work for my trust 4 years dreadful place. Bullying, jobs given to family and friends, bitc.h....no equality and diversity. , very poor unprofessional management. NHS is a place to avoid.

NHS has a lamentable work culture in far too many places.

When it's good, it's outstanding. Otherwise…

Classic NhS

Twice i ‘ve been asked to give an honest appraisal of a situation in the NHS.

once anonymously, once not.

both times have ended up with me needing union support and moving jobs.

They only want positive feedback, nothing negative. If you provide honest feedback that is negative you’re made out to be a troublemaker. I’ve learned my lesson.