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Politics Matters: Harrowing and upsetting stories of workplace bullying, aggressive management and intolerable working at NHS Highland led to new ways of dealing with complaints





David Stewart (third left) was among the politicians, whistleblowers and NHS staff representatives addressing the media after a meeting at Eden Court in 2018.
David Stewart (third left) was among the politicians, whistleblowers and NHS staff representatives addressing the media after a meeting at Eden Court in 2018.

MSPs might not be able to agree on everything, but being able to help constituents is a united goal, writes David Stewart.

In my 20 years of being a local MP and MSP, I have witnessed first-hand a series of harrowing and tragic constituents’ cases.

However, even a long background in social work did not prepare me for every surgery case.

For example, I was invited to attend a meeting in Eden Court, staged by the GMB union and whistle-blowers, about bullying and harassment within the NHS.

Fellow MSP Edward Mountain and I met more than 80 current and former NHS Highland employees. We were shocked by the culture of workplace bullying at all levels of the organisation.

Speaker after speaker spoke about aggressive management and intolerable working conditions.

At the coffee break I spoke to hospital porters, district nurses and administrators – they all had the same harrowing and upsetting stories to tell.

After the meeting we hit the ground running. Letters to the health secretary, the health board, parliamentary questions lodged, debates held in the chamber and individual cases written up.

The result? An independent inquiry, compensation and new ways of dealing with bullying complaints.

When I retired as an MSP in May, pride of place were positive letters from NHS staff who had been helped. There is no place for bullying at work.

Where do you stand on vaccine passports, is a question I often asked parliamentary witnesses before our Covid-19 committee when I was an MSP.

As with most burning political issues there is no easy answers or quick fixes.

There seems to be a stronger case for a vaccine passport for international travel as many international airlines already require this.

Professor Jason Leitch, the national clinical director, told my committee, during the last parliament session, that historically, travellers needed yellow fever passports to show they had been vaccinated.

Friends are going to France this week and they have a certificate from the NHS confirming their double vaccination, is this not a vaccine passport in any other name?

However, I can understand the civil liberties arguments against having to show a vaccine passport to access services, eat at a restaurant or drink at a pub.

The debate will continue but my advice is, if offered the vaccine, jump at the chance.

n While we enjoy the fantastic weather, it is easy to forget climate change is here, and disasters are waiting to happen.

It was brought into sharp focus when 12 people died in underground railway tunnels in China. Passengers were trapped and stood on seats to try to avoid the rising water.

A shortage of housing leads to pressure to build on areas designated flood zones. This stores up a growing problem in the future in how we mitigate flood events and prevent them in the first place.

I am sure this will be a major discussion at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in October.

We need to look at future house designs, flood mitigation and prevention and crucially where we are building, otherwise new developments will face a real problem and the real horrors of climate change.

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