NHS trust loses racial discrimination tribunal case

One of the biggest hospital trusts in England has been forced to pay out £1 million in damages after being found guilty of racial discrimination.

Central Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust was also accused of institutionalised racism after sacked senior manager Eliot Browne won his case of racial discrimination and unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

The tribunal ruled he faced “persistent discrimination” and “an intimidating environment” before the trust suspended him when he complained and then ended his 34-year NHS career.

Problems arose when the division managed by the 55-year-old, which included pathology, radiology and anaesthetics, went into deficit and he had to produce a plan to tackle the overspend. When he did so, Gill Heaton, the trust’s chief nurse and deputy chief executive, began what he described as a campaign of bullying and harassment.

The trust was accused of using tactics with him which they did not apply to white colleagues who ran other departments which had financial problems, such as writing to him to tell him that his position at the trust was “no longer tenable”.

Mr Browne said,

“It is scandalous that this kind of behaviour and culture should exist in an organisation whose prime purpose is to care for others.”

His union Unite’s head of health Rachael Maskell said,

“Unfortunately, the case of Elliot Browne is not unique within the NHS. Discrimination and harassment in the health service is all too common from our experience as a trade union and needs to be rooted out.

She added,

“NHS employers need to establish comprehensive and effective training programmes and human resources’ functions so that there will be no repetition of this case. Dignity at work needs to be a reality.”

A spokesman for the trust said,

“As an organisation we take issues of any discrimination seriously. We strongly believe that discrimination did not feature in this individual’s case. We appealed the original decision, which has been heard and we are awaiting the outcome. As such we feel that it is inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.”