'Bullying culture' harmed patient safety at scandal-hit NHS hospital

A culture of systemic bullying and harassment has been allowed to flourish among staff at one of England's most scandal-hit hospitals, a damning leaked report reveals.

- Amelia Gentleman

The safety of patients at Blackpool Victoria hospital was affected as a result of the failings, the report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) found.

The report was provided to leaders at the Blackpool teaching hospitals NHS trust in January but its findings were not shared widely with staff until 10 months later, prompting concerns that employees' ability to take urgent action on its 19 recommendations was compromised.

Staff who spoke to the RCP inquiry team said that excessive workloads were handed to inexperienced doctors, leaving them fatigued and stressed while treating patients.

They described a "keeping your head down culture" where their concerns were inadequately addressed.

Consultants said there was "systemic bullying, harassment and racial discrimination among staff".

The report, leaked to the Guardian, follows a series of devastating incidents at Blackpool Victoria hospital that have led to multiple arrests and six members of staff being imprisoned in the past two years.

Two nurses were jailed for stealing drugs and sedating patients to make their shifts easier. The trust's leading heart surgeon was imprisoned for sexually assaulting five colleagues.

In October, a coroner ruled that an elderly female patient had been sexually assaulted and unlawfully killed in her hospital bed; a murder investigation has concluded without identifying a culprit.

The trust has been accused by the British Medical Association (BMA) of doing too little to combat a "toxic culture of fear" and failing to "make the necessary changes to improve conditions for doctors". Wes Streeting, the health secretary, described the hospital's recent failings as "abhorrent".