harrasment for raising concerns

Hi Graham

From experience of being treated the same way when I whistle blew I will be honest with you based on my experience

I worked for a large organisation and to be honest there is little you can do. I would speak to ACAS who are a free HR company. You can ring them and they can offer you advice. If the company has suspended you they must feel there is a reason to do so even if underneath it all it is because of the concerns you raised.

Have you reported that you feel victimised and barraged. You should start making notes and gathering evidence to back up your concern/complaint.

At the end of the day you need to consider one thing in my opinion. If you work for a company that doesn't listen to you especially when it comes to abuse are they a caring company and one you want to represent. I made that decision when I was in your position and resigned. I joined some other not so good companies but have finally settled working for a fantastic customer focused care service and in the process worked my way up my a career ladder and I am a registered manager. All the negative experiences and wrong doing I have seen and been unfortunate to go through has shaped me and the service I run. Good luck and feel free to ask me any questions.
Mark

Hi Graham,

Unfortunately I think Mark is right - if you see something wrong and 'blow the whistle', all too often you end up being victimised. This is a very common 'theme' on the Nursing Times website.

Sorry that I can't offer a solution, and it is a bad situation to be in,

Mike

hi mark
thanks for your reply. i complained about abuse to a service user in
jan this year. he was aload to go round the site bad mouthing me .but
of course he is not going to sayi am an abuser i like giveing vonrable
peaple pain. he has to convince peaple that i have lied about him . i
reported in writing that he was doing this. the company did nothing to
stop this. of course if people think i would do such a thing.who could
blame them .eny way i was moved to a nother place. i got on realy
well. then the abuser had a party for his wife some of my work mates
went to this party.the abuser was telling them the same old story
they came back to work and were not talking to me . i found out about
the party and who was thier. so it became clear what had gone on . i
talked to my work mates .2 off them .and said it the harassment did
not stop i would make a complaint.i then went on holiday.when i
returned i had a letter. from the company saying i was suspended. they
have not used company procedure and .thir allegations are spurious
with no substance. but i know what your saying if i leave the abusers
win. and the guys are left with no one to protect them. i have no
intention of doing that. if they sack me i will expose the cover ups .
using the papers if i have to . we are supposed to be protected as
whistle blowers. but in reality you know we are not . but i will not
give up on the guys

yours sincerly g a carter

hi mike
thanks mike. yes i agree . but i also think that to abuse a service
user. is simply not acceptable. and that these guys .have no other.
protection but us .dignity champions. and we are as far as employment
law goes protected.i have only worked for the company for 10 months.
the first abuse i came across was a service user being knocked about

Graham,

Horrifying is my reaction to:

'the first abuse i came across was a service user being knocked about
on a daily bass is. with bruising all over his body new every day '

In theory you could report that to the Care Quality Commission, to the Police or perhaps to Social Services - in reality the company are likely to claim that you are lying, and to somehow 'blacken your own character', if the company 'is a bad 'un'' (and if the employer is a good company, they would have sorted it out).

Sir Robert Francis wrote a report about 'whistle-blowing' fairly recently, and one of the things he did point out was that the protection for staff who raise concerns isn't strong enough at the moment - he said it looks at first sight to offer more protection than it actually does offer.

Sadly, Sir Robert did not come up with a really good solution to the issue of 'properly protecting staff who blow the whistle' - doctors and nurses have recently been told it is their professional duty to raise concerns, but I'm still not sure that any of the current 'protections' do effectively stop bad employers from bullying whistle-blowers and/or ruining their careers.

It is all, to be frank, 'very upsetting' !

If I knew the answer to this, I would tell you, but I'm at a loss,

Best wishes, Mike

hi mike than you for your reply. it is all very distressing. but i
feel very passionate .that .people who can not speak for their self
should have some one to speak out for them. and i find it very hard to
think that some carers think it is ok to physically and verbally
bully service users . i have recorded all of it including emails to
the bosses informing them of harassment and bulling. but the outcome
has never been satisfactory
but i will continue my fight . may be i will get justice in a tribunal

kind regards g a carter dignity champion

If it is a safeguarding issue then report it to the service users social worker.