NHS consultant wins £90k after bosses ‘turned blind eye’ to 13-hour shifts

An NHS consultant has been awarded almost £90,000 in compensation after working “extremely long hours” at a mental health trust that she claimed was on its knees.

Dr Pippa Stallworthy, a consultant clinical psychologist, worked between 11 and 13 hours every day for eight months, which she described as “neither sustainable nor safe”, before her resignation in November 2019.

From 2009 she had been the clinical lead for the Traumatic Stress Service at South West London & St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, which assessed and treated vulnerable patients with complex post-traumatic stress disorder arising from a traumatic event in adulthood.

An employment tribunal was told that referrals to the unit increased by about 35% in early 2019, putting the small team under strain.

Stallworthy felt “totally unsupported” by bosses after requesting more help and resigned after numerous warnings that patients were at risk, the hearing in Croydon was told.

In her resignation letter, she said she had lost all “trust and confidence” in managers, accusing them of failing to address her safety concerns and “neglect” in making sure there were enough doctors.

“In my opinion the fact that both I and the service are on our knees is largely due to systematic management failure,” she wrote.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 18 September 2024