NHS doctor wins £219K in unfair dismissal claim following whistleblowing

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.

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.

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Untapping the potential of diversity

26 November 2024

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

University of Greenwich – HRSalary: £45,163 to £55,295 per annum, plus £5400 London weighting pro rata per annum This provides summary information and comment on

Universities UK – Human ResourcesSalary: £21,441 to £24,474 per annum pro rata, dependant on experience This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas

Derby College GroupSalary: £39,748 per annum, pro rata (actual salary £32,229) This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal

University of Oxford – NDM HR Centres of ExcellenceSalary: £34,982 to £40,855 per annum (pro rata) – Grade 6 This provides summary information and comment

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE