'Toxic culture' at NHS trust left staff suicidal

"It was toxic from start to finish – you tried to avoid certain people but because you work with them you couldn't, they were always there," says former NHS worker Harvey Cooper.

He is one of several former Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust (PHU) staff members who have spoken to the BBC as part of an investigation into an alleged culture of workplace bullying and harassment.

The allegations span the past decade and include a "flawed and unfair" internal investigation that contributed to A&E manager Sam Carter taking her own life in 2022.

Harvey says he resigned last May due to physical and mental distress he suffered at work.

He joined the trust in May 2022 as an Emergency Medical Assistant (EMA) at the Queen Alexandra Hospital (QA) in Cosham, a role which required moving patients around A&E.

He says he faced constant bullying from other EMAs - he claims he was called a homophobic slur, chanted at in corridors, prevented from taking patients to where they needed to go and was injured after a bed was shoved into him.

Emails seen by the BBC showed Harvey raised two grievances against some of the EMAs and managers were aware of alleged inappropriate behaviours and attitudes.

In November 2023, a year after his first grievance was submitted, he received a letter from the trust apologising for the way his complaints had been handled and the "unacceptable" length of time it had taken.

But by then Harvey says he was receiving counselling after feeling suicidal.

"It ended up ruining my health, my mental health, I had two heart attacks and diagnosed with PTSD and still to this day nothing ever got done," he told the BBC.

In response, the trust said it remained "committed to learning, improving, and fostering an inclusive and supportive environment".

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Source: BBC News, 23 April 2026

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