The first-ever NHS Sexual Safety Charter has been launched to tackle harassment and protect staff.
The charter is part of a commitment by the NHS to eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace. It is an agreement with 10 pledges including commitments to provide staff with clear reporting mechanisms, training, and support. The details can be read here.
This is a welcome initiative as there is well documented evidence that sexual harassment is commonplace in the NHS: Freedom of Information requests made by The Telegraph estimate there are 6 reports of sexual misconduct a week across the NHS; and the BMA’s Sexism in Medicine survey in 2021 found that 91% of women doctors had experienced sexism at work in the last 2 years.
At ibex gale we frequently investigate allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace, and recently presented at a webinar for HPMA members on this topic. Our co-founder David Major, and Associate Director Zoe Wood explored key issues that employers are likely to encounter when investigating sexual misconduct allegations, and presented guidance on how to conduct thorough investigations that achieve outcomes which are fair and robust.
The presentation covered the following areas:
- The current climate around sexual misconduct in healthcare
- Setting up the investigation
- Police involvement
- Dealing with historic complaints
- The importance of culture and context
- Collecting the evidence
- Assessing the evidence
- Multiple allegations or complainants
To view a copy of the presentation, please click here.
ibex gale are market leaders in conducting complex and sensitive workplace investigations. The types of investigations we specialise in include disciplinaries, grievances and bullying and harassment complaints.
We work for clients ranging from investment banks to the NHS. We have acted for more than 80 NHS Trusts as well as organisations including NHS England, the NMC, the GMC, NICE and leading private healthcare companies.
We have an unwavering focus on quality, integrity and professionalism, and are one of the few investigation providers accredited to the British Standard BS:102000 which demonstrates the rigour and compliance we adhere to in all our work.
For investigation enquiries, please get in touch us via our contact us form, and one of our team will be in touch.
