Staff at the NHS ambulance trust serving Brighton and Hove bullied, harassed and sexually preyed on women, according to a study published today (Friday 4 August).
The study was entitled Bullying and Harassment at South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust: An Independent Report by Professor Duncan Lewis.
It said: “Female staff talked about sexual favours being sought in return for career progression while others were hounded by managers seeking sexual favours for personal reasons.
“Several female staff felt that such behaviours were the norm with some stating ‘my arse was slapped regularly’ and others who felt they were demeaned by highly sexualised gazing in front of colleagues and even patients.
“Some female respondents talked about ‘sexual predators’ among male colleagues who ‘groomed students’ for sexualised ends.
“Some managers felt there was a history of comments being turned to lewd remarks but slowly these were being addressed.”
Men and women were victimised in a trust with a widespread culture of bullying, bad management and poor leadership, the study found.
A survey was sent to the 3,400 staff and more than 2,000 replied including more than 200 from the Brighton and Hove operational area and the Lewes headquarters.
Hundreds complained of having been bullied in the past 12 months and the details of their complaints left researchers shocked.
The study said: “The researchers were extremely distressed to hear of the experiences of several female Secamb employees.
“The trust may not of course be aware that such a culture exists as employees are often extremely fearful of speaking out against such practices.
“However, as has been shown time after time, ignorance is no defence and too many British institutions have demonstrated failure to take matters seriously when it comes to sexual abuse.
“This report now brings to the attention of the executive that further investigations will be necessary and action must be taken as an urgent priority to protect employees who are living in fear daily.”
The recommendations included urgenty tackling the sexual exploitation at the ambulance trust along with better training for managers.
The study also called for “better understanding of Secamb culture with a drive to change the macho, ‘work hard, play hard’ culture in some quarters to better represent the care expectations of a contemporary NHS”.
The report said: “Gallows humour has its place but not at the expense of decent and benevolent behaviour to all employees, regardless of gender, race, disability, etc.
“In addressing the tit-for-tat grievance culture, all sides must move away from the clear vindictive and retribution culture that exists to one that seeks to minimise disputes and creates effective vehicles for proper employee engagement.
“This can be only achieved by a leadership that deploys active listening and provides voice mechanisms for its employees.”
The study said: “Sickness absence figures in ambulance services trusts show almost 184,000 sickness absence days between 2013 and 2017, with stress, anxiety and mental health issues prominent causes of staff related absences. Even so, Secamb has a below average absence rate of 5.4 per cent.
“The 2016-17 report produced by the Public Accounts Committee also recognised high sickness absence rates and the additional challenge of recruiting and retaining qualified staff.
“Minutes evidenced to this committee by the Department of Health showed Secamb to have the highest published vacancy rate of any ambulance service in England (8.2 per cent).”
The study also said: “Several employees spoken to felt that while Secamb had slowly begun the process of tackling bullying and harassment by making changes at the highest organisational levels, there was considerable scepticism about the motives for doing so.
“Some employees felt that the commissioning of the research upon which this report is based was merely a gesture rather than a true commitment to tackling bullying and harassment.
“As such, much work must be done by the new chief executive and his team, including engagement with governors, non-executive directors and the broader workforce to demonstrate clear commitment to dealing with bullying and harassment.
“This is critical to addressing the view that the Secamb leadership have historically turned a blind eye to matters of bullying and harassment or indeed sexual harassment.”
