YORK Hospital has vowed to investigate union claims it has a bullying problem.

Unite representatives say they have been made aware of “numerous concerns” of mistreatment, mainly from staff in the Estates and Facilities department.

The number of reports has seen the union hand out information about physical and emotional harm, and how to identify it.

The flyer, handed to staff and seen by The Press, said: “Due to the numerous concerns around bullying and harassment that have been highlighted to Unite the union at York Hospital we have decided to hand out these flyers as we are concerned about the health and wellbeing of our members at work.”

The Trust said that it had a “zero tolerance” approach to bullying and it pledged to take action where there was evidence of any mistreatment.

Terry Cunliffe, regional officer at Unite, said he had received complaints by people in non-health related positions.

He added: “Some of the complaints are about the way in which staff are spoken to or handled managerially.

“It tends to be in the area of low paid work and people who already feel vulnerable because of their position in the Trust.

“We have been concerned about bullying at York Hospital for quite some time.

“Unite has raised this with the trust and human resources because they are responsible for these issues. It’s clear to them there are some perceptions of bullying in the trust and they are keen to address it.

“Progress has been slower than I would have hoped because I want to get more joint work between Unite and the Trust to provide training to both managers and staff about how people might perceive bullying and how they might behave towards others.”

A spokeswoman for York NHS Foundation Trust said it will look into any complaints.

They said: “The Trust takes a zero tolerance approach to bullying.

“We investigate any allegations made and where there is evidence to uphold these allegations, action is taken in line with our disciplinary policies which have been jointly agreed with the unions.”