Anti-Bullying and Undermining Campaign

Understanding Oppressive Behaviours

The 2021 NHS Staff Survey for England reported that almost 19% all NHS staff experienced at least one incident harassment, bullying or abuse from their colleagues over the last 12 months[1]. Not only does this have a devastating impact on individuals and the teams within which they work, but it also has serious consequences for patient care. It is also contrary to the professional behaviours outlined in the General Medical Council's Good Medical Practice[2] guidance and the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Practice[3].

Bullying, undermining and abuse also drains limited NHS resources, and is estimated to cost the NHS in England at least £2.3bn[4] a year in sickness absence, employee turnover, productivity and employment relations. Moreover, studies in the US have attributed disruptive behaviour in the perioperative area alone to 67% of adverse events, 71% of medical errors, and 27% of perioperative deaths.[5]

RCSEd’s Commitment to Eradicate Bullying in Healthcare Settings

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is committed to eradicating bullying and undermining from the surgical and dental professions. We continue to:

• Have a zero tolerance approach to bullying, undermining, producing a series of Professional Standards.
• Provide free access to our anti-bullying toolkit, e-module and other supporting materials offered by partner organisations.
• Work with partners from across healthcare professions to host events, offer advice and other initiatives, such as the anti-bullying Alliance, aimed at developing practical solutions to address bullying in the medical workplace.
• Lead the debate on this issue in the press and on social media.
• Develop key performance indicators to determine the effectiveness of interventions and collaborations targeting bullying and undermining.

Anti-Bullying and Undermining Resources

This campaign is endorsed by:

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