A UNION has vowed to do all it can to stamp out what it calls a bullying culture at York Hospital and the Trust which runs it.

Representatives of Unite say they receive daily reports of bullying throughout the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and have set out to put a stop to problems surrounding harassment and mistreatment of staff.

They say they have spent the last three months urging people to report the emotional harm they face at work and say they will continue to do all they can to bring it to an end.

The Trust says there is no evidence of a bullying problem at the hospital and said they support Unite’s campaign.

Michelle Hartlett, the branch secretary, said: “Some people are not comfortable speaking because they have lost faith in the system.

“They think people will listen to them, but won’t do anything about it.

“I want people to come forward and speak to us and never feel scared.”

Last month The Press reported that the hospital vowed to investigate union claims of a bullying problem and we have had many anonymous phone calls relating to the matter since.

This included one woman who said she was belittled and given more work to do when she returned from maternity leave and a woman who was repeatedly shouted at by a manager in front of patients.

York Press:

Others claimed management cliques make it impossible to climb the career ladder and new members of staff joining departments are made to feel threatened.

Mrs Hartlett said the feeling among staff is managers are given a level of protection.

Mrs Hartlett claimed that if managers were sent on a training course, it could create the impression the bullying has stopped when in reality the victim stops reporting the bullying because they think nothing is being done to help them.

A Trust spokeswoman said: “When an individual makes a specific complaint about bullying at work, this is investigated and, if evidence is found, action is taken against the perpetrator.

“The way accusations of bullying are dealt with in the Trust has been agreed in partnership with our union representatives, and applies to all staff.

“As a Trust we believe that all bullying is unacceptable, and we therefore support Unite and the other NHS unions in their campaign.”

York Central MP, Rachael Maskell, said: “There should be a zero tolerance approach to all negative behaviour.

“If concerns are being raised the Trust should take immediate steps to respond to and address any issues.”