Select a region
The Government says it is taking action to resolve all outstanding matters concerning allegations of bullying by senior Health officials first raised in an anonymous letter that said the department was "on the point of collapse".
In March, civil service chief Suzanne Wylie said that, following an independent review of the allegations, some of the claims should be dismissed while others “may warrant further consideration”.
It is understood that that consideration has now been completed and action is being taken. However, the Government did not provide detail on this action, as it does not comment on individual employment matters.
Last October, an anonymous letter was sent to senior politicians, civil servants and the island’s media which made a number of serious claims about the running of the Hospital and the department.
The letter said that morale in the department had been affected by the alleged bullying culture, and that the Hospital was “literally on the point of collapse”.
The allegations prompted Mrs Wylie to commission a review into the alleged bullying and misconduct.
Pictured: Government Chief Executive Suzanne Wylie commissioned a review following the allegations raised in the anonymous letter.
Bullying was also identified in a report published last August by Professor Hugo Mascie-Taylor, who was subsequently appointed to chair a new Health and Care Board for a year to help get it up and running.
His report alleged that there was a culture of bullying, “vested interests” and a lack of accountability which posed a threat to patient safety, and contained 61 recommendations to resolve the problem.
Health Minister Karen Wilson subsequently pledged to root out bullying within Health and “transform” the service by introducing new governance procedures, which Professor Mascie-Taylor's report identified as lacking.
In March, Director General for health Caroline Landon and Chief Nurse Rose Naylor both unexpectedly resigned at short notice amid further allegations of major cultural problems within the department.
Ms Landon's interim replacement, Chris Bown, said as he was appointed at the end of that month that culture change would be a key focus for him.
Pictured: New Interim Chief Officer of Health, Chris Bown.
“There is clearly a need to improve the culture of the organisation – that is well known,” he said.
“The need to ensure that staff are listened to, that they feel valued and engaged is important because we know – and there is plenty of evidence which suggests this – that poor morale has a negative impact on patient care and it is therefore critical that we improve the culture of our organisation.”
He added that “morale needs to improve” and that “Jersey has been subject to a number of critical reports [and] those issues have to be addressed”.
Culture change main focus for new Health Department head
Independent Health review sparks deeper probe into bullying claims
Gov CEO to review allegations of doctor bullying at Hospital (2022)
FOCUS: The sickness in the Health Department (2021)
FOCUS: Health workers open up about bullying (2021)
Report reveals States' secret bullying shame (2018)
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.