Hundreds of hospital workers in Manchester have reported safety fears as well as bullying and harassment at work, according to a report from the country’s largest NHS trust.
Workers at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) reported more than 380 incidents in total over the past year, up from 204 incidents in 2023-24. Staff concerns reported included ‘bullying behaviours by people in positions of authority’ and ‘harassment linked to protected characteristics’.
Many reported experiencing issues with ‘unprofessional behaviour’ and ‘leadership approaches leaving colleagues feeling undervalued, anxious or unsafe at work’.
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They also raised concerns over intense workload pressures, such as staffing gaps and rota changes putting staff at risk of ‘burnout’ while working in Manchester’s healthcare facilities.
MFT runs hospitals across the city including North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary, and Trafford General, employing more than 30,000 members of staff in total.
It is the biggest NHS trust in the country(Image: Anthony Moss | Manchester Evening News)
The incidents were revealed in the trust’s annual freedom to speak up report about the issues affecting workers. According to the document, wellbeing and safety issues were the top concerns shared more than 250 times over the last 12 months, followed by ‘inappropriate behaviours’ and then harassment and bullying.
An MFT spokesperson said it treats all concerns seriously and is ‘creating a culture where colleagues feel able to raise’ issues they experience.
The trust pointed out that the freedom to speak up report states that MFT is below average for an organisation of its size in terms of the number of concerns being shared across the year, which it would expect to be closer to 401 reports.
Fears over patient safety were also raised by MFT hospital staff in reports, including a ‘lack of feedback’ when using the trust’s incident reporting system.
MFT said in its report that its priority is to make sure concerns ‘lead to timely and meaningful action’ for its workforce.
It added in the document: “Across the year, colleagues continue to report bullying behaviours and harassment which can be directed towards a particular group, or individual who identifies as having a protected characteristic.”
The trust runs hospitals around the city(Image: Anthony Moss / Manchester Evening News)
A spokesperson for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said: “We encourage colleagues to speak up whenever they have concerns and publish our freedom to speak up (FTSU) data openly as part of our commitment to transparency.
“The number of concerns raised through FTSU should not be considered in isolation as a measure of organisational culture. It can reflect a range of factors, including awareness of speaking up routes and the confidence to use them.
“We take every concern seriously and regularly review the themes alongside wider information about staff experience, safety, and culture. National Staff Survey data shows that we score higher than the national average for staff being confident their concerns will be acted on. We have recently increased the number of guardians at MFT, improving visibility and accessibility of the service.
“Creating a culture where colleagues feel able to raise concerns is an important part of protecting staff wellbeing and patient safety. We will continue working to ensure that everyone at MFT feels safe and supported to speak up.”
Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, major concerns have been shared about patient care at the Northern Care Alliance (NCA), which runs hospitals in Salford, Rochdale, Oldham and Bury.
Industrial action was recently taken by more than 350 NCA staff, who spoke on picket lines about suffering from ‘stress, anxiety and depression’ at work.