Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Parliament debate secured to set out scope for NHS bullying inquiry

Edward Mountain.
Edward Mountain.

A debate in the Scottish Parliament will set out the scope and time frame of an independent inquiry into an NHS Highland bullying scandal.

The debate, which will take place on November 29, has been secured by Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain.

His motion received cross party support from the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Green Party.

It states that the “parliament condemns bullying in any shape of form; welcomes the independent external investigation to examine the claims of bullying in the workplace at NHS Highland, which was announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on November 2, 2018, and notes the calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that the matter is resolved fully and promptly.”

Mr Mountain had led calls at the Scottish Parliament for an independent inquiry.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


He said: “I am delighted that the Scottish Government has reconsidered its position and is finally launching an external independent inquiry into bullying claims within NHS Highland.

“It is now vital that the Scottish Government sets out the terms of reference for the inquiry, what resources will be made available to help the investigators and the timeframe of the inquiry.

NHS Highland whistleblowers hail top-level talks over an external investigation into the claims as ‘the first time our voices have ever been heard’

“The inquiry must be efficient, effective and leave no stone unturned. What no-one wants is an inquiry that suffers from long-delays and therefore means NHS Highland staff are left waiting too long for answers.

“That is why it is necessary to hold this debate and I am pleased my motion has won cross-party support.”

NHS Highland bosses have agreed to seek “external help and advice” regarding the claims.

This comes on the back of a private meeting held and attended by 120 medics who voiced concerns with senior officials.

A group of whistleblowers first made allegations in September. Hospital consultants and GPs attached their names to claims that senior doctors and nurses were frightened to raise concerns with senior management.

Four Highland medics spoke out – Eileen Anderson, consultant radiologist at Raigmore; Lorien Cameron-Ross, out-of-hours GP at Raigmore; Jonathan Ball, a GP at a Nairn medical practice and Iain Kennedy, executive partner at Riverside, Foyers and Cromarty medical practices.