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A good friend of mine works in a hospital (geriatric ward) and has somehow become involved in a cover up.

Asbestos has been discovered in three of the hospital pavilions including the one she works in. It had been discovered previously and the health board had contracted a company to remove it. They have recentley discovered that the company did not remove it - they merely taped it up. When the health board found this out and tried to get back in touch with this company, they found that they had disappeared without a trace and were uncontactable.

Now the new company has been brought in. They have sealed up only the parts of the wards that are NOT visible to relatives. They have posted asbestos notices in staff rooms NOT visible to relatives. Staff have been instructed on threat of dismissal NOT to tell patients or relatives what's going on. They are not allowed to speak to their union OR health and safety.

The wards are to remain open. The health board hope to pass off the asbestos removal to relatives as 'maintainance work'.

Many of the elderly patients have respiratory conditions. Many of the nurses on these wards develop chest infections everytime they fall ill with the cold. Two staff members were diagnosed with cancer in the past couple of years.

The asbestos removal workers will have suits, breathing equipment and a decontamination unit.

The staff are to function as normal. They are scared to speak out but feel that they are being implicated by not telling relatives the truth. My friend is frightened I will tell the press as I was suitably outraged when she told me.

I don't know what to do for the best.

― Anonish, Tuesday, 31 January 2006 08:40 (twenty years ago)

What are the whistleblowing laws like where you are?

She should contact a union rep in confidence.

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 08:46 (twenty years ago)

So the health board is in on this? Yeah, union lawyers would be the first ones I'd contact too, they should have experience on cases like this.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 08:48 (twenty years ago)

I think the health board have implied that if they hear of the union becoming involved they will find the staff member responsible and discipline them.

It sounds like bad shit.

If the staff are too scared to even go to the union then what?

― Anonish, Tuesday, 31 January 2006 09:26 (twenty years ago)

How would they find out who did it if it's an anonymous call? Anyway, hopefully someone will think, "Even if I get fired, is it really worth it sticking with a job like this?", and will contact someone. I wouldn't want to work for an employer that risks my health, surely there are other options.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 09:30 (twenty years ago)

Staff have been instructed on threat of dismissal NOT to tell patients or relatives what's going on. They are not allowed to speak to their union OR health and safety.

Isn't the whole point of the union to protect workers from abuse by their employer? I'd say a 16-hour rotation where you have to breathe asbestos the whole time counts as abuse. As mentioned above, whistleblower (and non-retribution) laws should protect your friend or whoever lets this slip. And it will slip, likely from the janitor they fire for showing up late. What's he got to lose his job? It's not like they can retain everybody privy to this information indefinitely.

I think the health board have implied that if they hear of the union becoming involved they will find the staff member responsible and discipline them.

What power does the health board have to discipline anybody? They have no grounds to act upon, other than failing to collude with them. They would only be implicating themselves if they did anything.

Also, was it one of the hospitals mentioned here?

― naus (Robert T), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 09:38 (twenty years ago)

Document everything (covertly take pictures of the staff-only warnings using a cell phone) and send the proof anonymously to a newspaper.

― StanM (StanM), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 09:43 (twenty years ago)

There seems to be a real culture of fear across these wards.

Naus, it's not one of the hospitals mentioned above, as yet nobody is aware that this is going on in the hospital concerned.

I wish I could change her mind. Perhaps I should contact the union on her behalf?

x-post Stan

I'd hate her to be caught doing this, she is angry but seems resigned to staying quiet.

― Anonish, Tuesday, 31 January 2006 09:45 (twenty years ago)

I'd hate her to go to jail because some judge later rules that staying quiet is the same as being an accomplice.

― StanM (StanM), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 09:54 (twenty years ago)

Is it really that serious? Sheesh. I suppose I was also looking for folks to say asbestos isn't that much of a problem and they're just covering it up to save the realtives from unnecessary worry!!

― Anonish, Tuesday, 31 January 2006 10:06 (twenty years ago)

The asbestos removal workers will have suits, breathing equipment and a decontamination unit.

― The Man in the Iron-On Mask (noodle vague), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 10:08 (twenty years ago)

From your description it's hard to say how serious it is, but if the staff members have developed chest infections, and if the health board would rather cover it up and scare the employees into remaining silent than deal with it properly, then it certainly doesn't seem that innocent.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 10:14 (twenty years ago)

Some asbestos is relatively benign. It is not flaking off and is best left well alone. But the fact that they are taping it up and putting up warning notices suggest that there is at least a slight dager of fibres entering the atmosphere with is very bad for people with respiratory difficulties in the short term and can cause asbestosis (A painful, horrible slow death) in anyone in the long term. Your friend's life is being unecessarily being puta at risk by a dangerously illigal attitude to Health and Safety.

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 10:21 (twenty years ago)

Is it really that serious? Sheesh. I suppose I was also looking for folks to say asbestos isn't that much of a problem and they're just covering it up to save the realtives from unnecessary worry!!

My understanding of it is that asbestos is only really a problem if it's disturbed e.g drilled, cut or removed. That's the only way that the dust escapes. It sounds like they're removing a section of it, in which case they'll seal up the area and do everything in a strictly contolled manner with a lot of air quality testing afterwards. I don't think it'll prove to be too much of a hazard outside the controlled area.

That said, it is a worry that previous work might not have complied with H&S requirements. Maybe you should contact the Health and Safety Executive to get some proper advice?
http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 10:22 (twenty years ago)

try contacting these people - http://www.lkaz.demon.co.uk - they'll have encountered someone in your friend's position before. also http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,823540,00.html

― emsk ( emsk), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 10:34 (twenty years ago)

Thank you, I have emailed lkaz with my concerns. I hope they can put my mind at rest.

I'm currently reading details from the HSE site.

― Anonish, Tuesday, 31 January 2006 10:43 (twenty years ago)

Regardless of how serious the asbestos problem is, the real point of this situation is the gestapo tactics of the hospital.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 11:06 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, it does seem that they're not managing this problem too well.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 11:15 (twenty years ago)

Blow the whistle.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 11:19 (twenty years ago)

id rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy

― howell huser (chaki), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 11:20 (twenty years ago)

http://www.collina.8k.com/collina1.jpg

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 11:28 (twenty years ago)

Is it worth speaking to the press at all?

― Anonish, Tuesday, 31 January 2006 11:31 (twenty years ago)

Perhaps it would be better to go through the 'proper channels' (i.e. union rep) first.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 11:45 (twenty years ago)

as a journalist and union member, i'd say: fuck the press for the moment. that will cause problems. speak to a union rep in confidence; let the union speak to the HSE.

whatever your friend does, they can't keep quiet. and i'm sure most other people in their position feel the same.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 12:28 (twenty years ago)

as for the newspapers: keep that as an ace up your sleeve, to be pulled out if the going gets particularly tough.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 12:30 (twenty years ago)

Wow, people saying good things about trade unions... in Britain... in 2006. Will wonders never cease?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 31 January 2006 12:30 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

nah. Was a bug in the banning system.

-- stet, Tuesday, 25 December 2007 03:56 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

― Just got offed, Tuesday, 25 December 2007 04:03 (eighteen years ago)

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