Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Preet Kaur Gill MP seeks independent review into claims of bullying at University Hospitals Birmingham

“It needs to be a fully independent review, not something that sounds like an NHS tick box exercise, as that will not go down well with those who have raised concerns.”

Preet Kaur Gill MP seeks independent review into claims of bullying at University Hospitals Birmingham

Preet Kaur Gill MP has sought an independent inquiry into the allegations of historic toxicity and bullying at University Hospitals Birmingham.

She said reviews already announced by the NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) would not go far enough.

The MP Birmingham Edgbaston MP and shadow cabinet minister for international development said she would urge health secretary Steve Barclay to hold a “fully independent inquiry” into the allegations raised by BBC Newsnight.

She claimed dozens of doctors and consultants spoke to her over the working conditions and claims of bullying at the NHS trust and some of the complaints were “distressing”.

Gill claimed the trust and the ICB were “rushing into a review, deciding who to appoint,” instead of doing it in a “very careful” and “measured way”.

"It needs to be a fully independent review, not something that sounds like an NHS tick box exercise, as that will not go down well with those who have raised concerns,” BiminghamLive quoted her as saying.

She said she was holding discussions with Barclay and would meet University Hospitals Birmingham’s new chair, Dame Yve Buckland.

"I will be telling her that I am very concerned that this sounds like the two NHS organisations have come together and planned how this will work,” which would not satisfy the “distressed people I have been in contact with," the Labour and Co-op MP said.

She said she had seen "evidence of staff threatened with disciplinary action over absences, issues raised about patient safety concerns and the extreme pressure staff say they are under."

"We cannot have staff safety and patient harms being compromised, which, she said, "has happened on the watch of the UHB Board."

On Thursday, the ICB announced three reviews into University Hospitals Birmingham to address the allegations made by Newsnight and any broader leadership and cultural issues at the trust.

The first review focuses on the specific allegations and the concerns of patient safety and bullying.

It said a senior independent clinician from outside the local health system agreed to oversee the review.

The Trust will also commission a broader external review of the culture at UHB. The third one will be an external well-led review to be conducted in partnership with NHS England and NHS Birmingham and Solihull.

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less