Lessons learned: External review of the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust's response to the management of a consultant with a criminal conviction (May 2024)

Summary

In February 2024 a senior consultant employed by the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (RDUH) was found guilty of three offences; making and possessing indecent images of children (three counts), possession of prohibited images of child pornographic or grossly offensive, disgusting or of an obscene character and possession of extreme pornographic images. This event sent shockwaves through the department they worked in, more broadly across the RDUH and into the population served by the hospital. This event came to light through the courage of a member of staff, who spoke up when they saw something wrong, the actions of staff and the systems in place that contained this situation. The RDUH team worked closely with the Police and other statutory agencies to enable the investigation and bring these events to their final conclusion.

Content

The RDUH has commissioned this review, using the principles laid out in a Just and Restorative Culture, to understand the impact this has had on the RDUH and to determine any learning that can be taken from these events.

The review concludes with a number of areas where the RDUH could consider improving its systems and process. In most areas there are improvements already underway and the findings in this review could add to them. The review recognises the importance of ensuring the culture of the RDUH in creating conditions where people can speak up and be heard, and for everyone, particularly (but not solely) women, to feel sexually safe at work. The review also offered some opportunity to continue the work that is being done to improve the support for managing doctors well in the RDUH. In particular, the storage and sharing of information, escalation processes and the importance of diverse expertise when managing complex situations are areas for focus. Finally, there is opportunity to improve the process of communication within the RDUH in situations involving confidentiality, safety and where staff are impacted by external events.