Accusations of bullying, sex discrimination and failing to protect a whistleblower have been levelled at the health department during a tribunal hearing.

A pre-hearing review heard accusations aimed at senior members of the Department of Health and Social Care, including its former chief executive and current acting chief executive.

The case has been lodged by Dr Claire Tinwell, a consultant clinical psychologist who was working in the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service team. She has been employed by the department since July 2014.

Dr Tinwell claims she ’suffered detriment following public interest disclosures that she had made’ resulting in ’career-ending consequences’ - attributable, she alleges, to conditions and issues at work that had caused a serious breakdown in her health.

The sex discrimination proceedings name as additional respondents Dr Derek Proudlove, Angela Murray (now acting DHSC chief executive), Emma McClean and Brendan McIlveen, who are all employed by the DHSC.

The main allegations against them related to bullying and harassment. The proceedings also heard allegations of overwork at Noble’s Hospital.

During the proceedings, Dr Tinwell ’pointed to and produced examples of alleged bad management’ and ’examples of were offensive emails and pictures created by workplace colleagues’.

absences

Dr Tinwell was initially absent from January to March 2015 due to ill-health but after further intermittent absences, she was signed off work as from July 2015 and has not worked or been paid since.

She first raised concerns about workplace issues in September or October 2014. The report said: ’Her working life became unbearable and she became ill with periods of sickness in the first half of 2015.

’In July 2015, she commenced a period of extended sickness absence due to chronic fatigue but in January 2017, her condition was diagnosed as being severe PTSD.’

On January 8 2016, Dr Tinwell submitted a ’comprehensive written grievance’ to Julia Kaye, the human resources director for the DHSC and to Angela Murray, then director of mental health services.

The thrust of the January 2016 grievance concerned bullying, harassment and a failure by the DHSC in its duty of care towards her.

In April that year, David Fallows, financial operations manager for the Treasury, was appointed by the DHSC to investigate these grievances. During his investigation Mr Fallows refused to meet her in person, it is alleged.

Prior to a telephone interview, he sent her a list of questions including: ’Why don’t you just leave, given that you are no longer based on the Isle of Man, are not receiving pay and are not well enough to travel?’

Dr Tinwell said this raised concerns over the impartiality of his investigation. Following the completion of the investigation, she was not provided with a copy of the report within the time frame allowed.

As a result, she wrote to then chief executive, Dr Malcolm Couch, where she introduced ’further complaints about Emma McClean, Angela Murray, Andrea Lillywhite and others’.

The report added: ’In the absence of any substantive response from Dr Couch, the claimant lodged her sex discrimination proceedings on August 17 2016.

’No mention was made in it of any of her complaints/grievances being protected disclosures nor had protected disclosures been mentioned as such at any time so far.

’The main allegations related to bullying and harassment naming the four individuals over and above the respondent dating back to January 8 2016 letter plus further allegations because of matters of which the claimant had become aware in May 2016 by virtue of her subject access request.’

On September 13 2016, Dr Tinwell asked Dr Couch whether those involved in sending abusive and offensive emails had been suspended because, if no actions had been taken against them, she felt she would not be able to return to work.

Dr Couch confirmed that it was his responsibility but he gave no indication as to what, if anything, had been or would be done to meet her concerns.

In 2017, she asked Eric Holmes, then her union representative, for assistance. He wrote to Dr Couch and accused the DHSC of ignoring most of her evidence.

Following what he described as a ’scant investigation’, he blamed Dr Couch for closing the inquiry having decided that the staff at the hospital had no case to answer.

Mr Holmes asked for an appeal to be heard by a separate independent body. However Dr Couch refused, saying there had ’already been an independent investigation’ and that ’appropriate action in terms of the matters raised by the complaint and the investigation’ had been taken.

He added that the DHSC had ’not accepted that any of the matters about which she has made complaint are the root cause of her ongoing illnesses’.

During the hearing, the DHSC attempted to have the tribunal dismissed for reasons including it being out of time.

However, tribunal chairman Douglas Stewart and the panel accepted that Dr Tinwell’s PTSD ’would on balance have been likely to affect her ability to file her claim’ and ruled that she should be allowed to continue to a full hearing.