Health Secretary Jeane Freeman met NHS Highland bullying whistleblowers but had to cancel meeting with board due to coronavirus discussions
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Health Secretary Jeane Freeman had to cut short a meeting to Inverness today.
Ms Freeman was in Inverness to discuss how the crisis-hit NHS Highland was handling the aftermath of the bullying scandal first exposed in 2018.
But face-to-face meetings with board chiefs were abandoned when she was called to London for an emergency UK government COBRA meeting discussing the threat to the UK posed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Following deaths from the viral illness in China, there have been tests on five suspected Scottish cases though it was announced today that all five have proved negative for the virus.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Health Secretary would like to thank the whistleblowers for their time and for the constructive and open discussion.
“The Health Secretary reiterated her clear position that she expects NHS Highland to consider all the issues raised by current employees, as well as former employees who have lost their job or felt compelled to leave.
“She has also been clear that this must be done on a case-by-case basis, with the principles of fairness, kindness and compassion underpinning the whole process, as is clearly recommended in the Sturrock report.
“She will be returning to the board soon to continue the dialogue, and to engage with board officials to review progress with the delivery of this process.”
A spokesman for NHS Highland said: “We completely understand the reasons for the meeting being cancelled.
“We will work with the Scottish Government to reschedule the meeting as soon as possible.”
