Cardiac surgical unit issues will not be ignored, says trust

The Belfast Health Trust is "not shying away" from trying to improve relations among staff within its regional cardiac surgery unit, its chairman has said.

Ciaran Mulgrew was speaking for the first time since a leaked review laid bare bullying allegations and reports of surgeons throwing instruments during procedures.

He became chairman of the trust, which has been beset by a series of problems, in 2023.

Mr Mulgrew told BBC News NI he wanted the trust to be judged on "how it solved the problems, not on where we are".

He was speaking after a meeting with Health Minister Mike Nesbitt on Friday.

Mr Mulgrew described the discussion as "frank and robust" and that the minister was "quite clear about his disappointment" with the situation.

"The reality is that we have a difficulty," he said,

"We're not shying away from that difficulty.

"We're not trying to hide it, and we will address that."

He said Nesbitt was "quite clear that we have to get our house in order".

"This is by no means something which is in any way being hidden or pushed underneath the carpet. If it were, then we wouldn't have dealt with things in the way that we did," said Mr Mulgrew.

Asked to respond to concerns that the behavioural problems could be widespread across the trust, the chairman said he did not believe the difficulties in the cardiac surgery unit were reflective of the trust as a whole.

"I think in any organisation with 23,000 people, you're going to have difficulties within relationships," he said.

"The worst thing that you can do is ignore those things or walk past them. We're not prepared to do that."

In a statement, the health minister said he would hold the trust's senior management able for its response to the report.

Mr Nesbitt also said he was finalising a series of interventions by his department.

"These will include ability measures as well as the provision of external to help the Trust rebuild staff and public confidence," he said.

The report said an "apparent power battle" had been unfolding between some senior doctors in the cardiac surgical department of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

Some 70 staff spoke anonymously and the report stated there were "clear tensions" between different groups of staff.

The report also detailed the throwing of instruments during surgery as well as "verbal abuse".

The report added that while there was one consultant "particularly prone" to throwing instruments in theatre, the behaviour was not unique and nursing staff were bearing the "brunt of the bullying".