A joint initiative between Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Leeds is leading the way in a partnership-wide approach to preventing, identifying and responding to harassment and sexual misconduct affecting trainee doctors and other health students on clinical placements.
It is hoped the collaboration will become a model for the University’s other clinical placement providers and NHS partners.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals is the first NHS trust in West Yorkshire to work with a medical school to improve students’ confidence in reporting incidents of sexual misconduct when they are on placement at hospitals or other clinical settings.
The Trust was chosen to work with the School of Medicine because of its strong partnership with the University and the Trust’s positive feedback from students on clinical placement.
Harassment and sexual misconduct on placement can be perpetrated by other students, patients or staff and could mean students being objectified, sexualised or touched. It also affects both male and female students.
The initiative has backing from Surviving in Scrubs, a national campaign started by two doctors on a mission to raise awareness about sexism and sexual assault in healthcare. The campaign works with national healthcare organisations and regulators to challenge this culture and push for change.
This work aligns with the NHS England’s National Sexual Safety in Healthcare Charter which aims to end sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace, with all participating healthcare organisations enforcing a zero-tolerance approach.
Chief Medical Officer at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Dr John Bolton, said:
I’m very proud that we are working closely with the University of Leeds on this important matter. The experience that healthcare students have on placement has a lasting impact and we want that to be a positive one that fosters long-term and committed careers in the NHS.
As a Trust we take harassment and sexual misconduct very seriously and will not tolerate it, so it’s great that we are sharing our practices to build even stronger guidance and responsive action that can set a template for other places.
The Trust and University is working together on a range of activities including:
- developing a governance process for reporting and assurance
- mapping policies and guidance to make sure the two organisations align
- creating a communication campaign to highlight the joint commitment to preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct for students on clinical placement.
Professor Mark Kearney, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Leeds said:
We are delighted that the Trust is our first partner in this important activity, which reflects the commitment Bradford shows to creating high quality clinical placements for our students. We hope wider local and national partnerships between universities and the NHS can build on this programme of work to improve experiences for all students on placement.