I’ve been around the block for a while so surgeons behaving badly rarely shocks me anymore but, uh, what the fuck. I’ll attach some screenshots below. This is outrageous, awful behaviour from multiple members of the same dysfunctional team. I am simply stunned hospitals put up with these people - ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

medcrisis.bsky.social • 5 hours ago

I’ve been around the block for a while so surgeons behaving badly rarely shocks me anymore but, uh, what the fuck. I’ll attach some screenshots below. This is outrageous, awful behaviour from multiple members of the same dysfunctional team. I am simply stunned hospitals put up with these people

Reposted from Shaun Lintern

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Surgeons at a top NHS trust embroiled in allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia and bullying that created a “toxic” culture and harmed patient care, according to a secret report: www.thetimes.com/article/aa76...

Comments

medcrisis.bsky.social•5 hours ago

I’ve worked in good and bad teams. This is a patient safety issue, it’s not just about HR. If you work in a poorly functioning, hostile team, patients suffer. Outcomes are worse. People feel unable to ask for help. Vendettas make people do stupid things. Bullied, demoralised doctors make mistakes

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medcrisis.bsky.social•5 hours ago

I sometimes feel like I’m drowning in NHS work but I thank my stars on a daily basis that I have such lovely colleagues who I support but also upon whom I rely. My tertiary centre is the friendliest, most collegiate unit I’ve ever worked in. I never take that for granted. Imagine working in this:

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jopodr.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Really just makes you wonder when these situations are out in the open what it takes to actually solve them - it won’t come as a shock to most in that institution surely?

medcrisis.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Sadly we all know how difficult it is to sack someone in the NHS, which surely has to change. We all have stories of people (not this bad) who should be restricted or booted but nothing happens. I am constantly baffled how we just shrug unacceptable behaviour off as “he’s just like that”.

medcrisis.bsky.social•5 hours ago

If people in a bank or business behaved like some doctors I’ve seen, eg screaming at scrub nurses or refusing to work until some trivial thing is addressed, they’d be fired without hesitation. I’m not saying that’s an aspiration, but the difference is stark

tanayas.bsky.social•4 hours ago

This is where I have to sing in praise of GPSTs in surgery posts. Awesome. DNGAF. No career concerns, no fears speaking up. Huge help in Surgical Tutor role pouring the disinfectant of sunlight over poor behaviours

dysamoria.com•4 hours ago

The notion of rarity of the relevant skills that bring in money, plus the tendency for these types to be more like management than they’re like anyone else (in terms of personality & social skills), results in people excusing them for bad behavior because “they make up for it with merit/value”.

tharusha.bsky.social•3 hours ago

disgusting. that person should not only be sacked but should be reported to the police

ruralpunk.bsky.social•1 hour ago

I don't know what's more disgusting, his behavior or the fact that he still has a job. I'm so grateful that I can confidently say that my health authority (in Canada) would never tolerate such a bigot.

scullingmonkey.bsky.social•5 hours ago

this is awful and clearly a very dysfunctional team

however i object to 'surgeons behaving badly rarely shocks me' comments.

its important to call things out, change culture and all. but sweeping generalisations are not helping and are damaging.

medcrisis.bsky.social•4 hours ago

I don’t think my statement suggested all surgeons are problematic, nor that it’s common. But it is fair to say that many of these high profile stories involve surgeons. I lump cardiologists in too. Certain fields do attract personality types that can lead to dysfunctional teams.

scullingmonkey.bsky.social•4 hours ago

i dont think certain fields attract personality types.

i think toxic and dysfunctional departments create and recruit people who ensure the toxicity continues.

oldmandoc.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Agree with this.
I know some acute medical teams which have historically been extremely toxic due to the people on it.
Didn't change until there was a bit of root and branch clearout of the leadership.

oldmandoc.bsky.social•4 hours ago

And seperate to that as an FY1 I had a terrible opinion of vascular surgeons as the team I interacted with were such an unpleasant bunch.

But everywhere else I've worked they've generally been friendly and really helpful as a medic

scullingmonkey.bsky.social•4 hours ago

It’s also as much about the local (hospital) structures that enable this for too long.

And then just post their “here are our values” statement when it hits the news.

scullingmonkey.bsky.social•4 hours ago

and rather than saying specialty X or Y has this problem, its about identifying overall structures that facilitate this and/or delay investigations, and mechanisms that mean people can still work at 80 when really something should have been done 20+ years ago.

medcrisis.bsky.social•4 hours ago

I agree with that, the focus should be on preventing these situations occurring, but this requires wholesale cultural change as so much of the above is normalised and tolerated. That acceptance, prevalence, and maintenance of poor behaviour is drastically different from one team to another

scullingmonkey.bsky.social•4 hours ago

But saying “oh it’s always This Specialty” excuses many other highly toxic places to clean up their backyard.

msrobinhosking.bsky.social•4 hours ago

There is a lot of naivety in the medical/surgical world. I’m glad you are clearly not naive and you’re shining a spotlight on all this.

peteturton85.bsky.social•4 hours ago

#OneDysfunctionalTeamAcrossSpecialities

scullingmonkey.bsky.social•4 hours ago

hahaha

krittikaa.bsky.social•4 hours ago

This is... Unhinged

somewhatpointless.bsky.social•5 hours ago

This shit is everywhere 😞 We need to keep exposing it and de-normalize it.
Somehow, there's always hunger for power involved. I wish we could build systems to be more merit based and less prone to politics. I wish we taught children and students to be less self-important and blame others less.

dysamoria.com•4 hours ago

All areas of tech work (yes, that includes things like surgery) have a problem with people like this. Some areas of career development really respond well to having obsessive focus, but that usually means there are deficits in other areas of development, such as personality, social skills, empathy.

clairedocdavies.bsky.social•5 hours ago

I am stunned too.

Some of the comments that went unchallenged

tanayas.bsky.social•3 hours ago

Who can challenge when there’s such a big gradient in the room - those impacted needed to feel secure in reporting to AESs, team leaders, FTSUGs etc for escalation to the offenders’ peers & managers

The fact this didn’t/couldn’t happen here speaks volumes to corporate culture