In the case of Macanovic v Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust a senior doctor has won an unfair dismissal case after being sacked for reporting her colleagues to the General Medical Council over a new technique she thought was dangerous.
The ‘extremely gifted’ kidney specialist ‘strongly opposed’ the method adopted by other doctors at the renal unit at Queen Alexandra Hospital where she worked after learning that recipients of it had suffered complications including excessive bleeding, clotting and even death.
Colleagues had hoped that the new ‘buttonholing’ procedure – which involves the insertion of needles to aid dialysis – would help in the treatment of kidney patients.
But an employment tribunal heard Dr Macanovic was so concerned she blew the whistle to the Care Quality Commission, before reporting her fellow consultants to the GMC.
The move prompted ‘outrage’ among her colleagues with Unit head, Dr Robert Lewis, finding it ‘defamatory’, the tribunal heard.
Following this, Dr Macanovic was sacked for serious misconduct after her employers found she had been ‘aggressive’, ‘intimidating’, and had accused colleagues of lying.
However, she has now successfully sued the hospital after the tribunal found she was unfairly dismissed for whistleblowing, with the panel ruling she had done so not to ‘intimidate’ but to ‘demonstrate the seriousness of the situation’.
At the time of the tribunal decision last year, a spokesperson for Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust said in a statement: “We respect the decision of the employment tribunal panel and as a trust are committed to transparency and continuous improvement.
“At PHU, the safety and care of our patients is our top priority, and we took the original concerns raised very seriously. These concerns were thoroughly investigated and reviewed internally and externally, including by the Care Quality Commission. We are committed to supporting colleagues raising concerns, so they are treated fairly with compassion and respect.”
The remedy hearing awarded Macanovic £186,697 in compensation for unfair dismissal, plus £33,000 for injury to feelings following unlawful detriments for raising protected disclosures.
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