Call for quicker turnaround times for HSE bullying complaints

East Cork Social Democrats councillor Liam Quaide has called for quicker turnaround times for complaints made about bullying in the HSE.

He and Neasa Hourigan, Green Party TD for Dublin Central, met recently appointed HSE regional executive officer for the South West, Dr Andy Phillips, where Mr Quaide raised the issue of bullying within the HSE.

He explained: “The HSE Grievance Procedure states that a grievance hearing should be arranged within seven working days of the submission being made.

“Within the Cork Kerry Community Healthcare services, a HSE employee who submits a grievance against a manager is typically left languishing for months before a grievance hearing is arranged by the next manager up.

“For many employees this prolonged ordeal of stone-walling happens at each of the three stages of the internal grievance process. This places enormous stress on the employee and can lead to prolonged stress leave absences.”

Not addressed

Mr Quaide said Dr Phillips agreed grievances are not being addressed in a timely manner within local services and was making efforts to address this. 

Mr Quaide had previously raised this in Cork County Council chambers, explaining: “It’s well known with the health service that employees are typically left languishing for months and, even in some cases, there is no response to their grievance submission even with persistent follow-up from them and their union representative.

“In the meantime, the employee may have to continue working with the person who has been bullying them. For many, the stress involved in pursuing an issue over months or even years is too much and they discontinue the process.”

Cork County Council had previously written to the HSE CEO Bernard Gloster in light of the finding from a HSE staff survey that 27% of respondents have experienced bullying or harassment.

They requested that basic data on the numbers of Grievance/Dignity at Work cases submitted by HSE employees be maintained by each CHO and Hospital Group, including number of cases, and the length of time the complainant has been waiting for a hearing at each stage of the complaint process.

Summary report

They also requested that each CHO and Hospital Group HR Dept would provide the CEO’s office with a bi-annual summary report of cases currently active and details of efforts made to progress the complaints/resolve the issues.

The HR department wrote back, saying: “Each CHO and Hospital Group retains locally detail of complaints submitted for review under the Dignity at Work policy by HSE employees, and the duration in each case that the employee waited for this verdict, from the time they submitted the complaint.”

Mr Quaide said: “The response from the HSE’s National HR office only refers to Dignity at Work cases, which meet a very high threshold, and many of which are screened out by the HSE itself. There are many insidious versions of bullying that fall under the HSE’s Grievance policy.”

He received full support in his suggestion that the council write back to Bernard Gloster and seek assurances that waiting-times for HSE staff awaiting grievance hearings as opposed to Dignity at Work hearing are maintained in each CHO, and also to ask him how he has addressed the culture of bullying within the organisation since he took office.