Case: 202406879
NHS organisation: Orkney NHS Board
Subject: Treatment of the individual
Outcome: Resolved (discontinued)
Date: September 2025
Summary
The complainants raised concerns to the INWO that they were treated unfairly by the Board after raising whistleblowing concerns.
We considered two aspects of the complaint:
- comments made in a meeting to both complainants, and
- an interview process involving one of the complainants.
We took evidence from all parties. We noted that, through the Board, an individual offered an apology for the comments made in the meeting. The Board also provided assurances about the interview process in response to the concerns raised by the complainant. This included updates to their corporate code of governance, training for recruiting managers and pre interview checklist.
Given the apology offered and the updates shared by the Board, the INWO proposed a resolution which was accepted by the complainants. We recognise the pragmatic approach taken by both parties to engage constructively and reach a resolution. Our decision in this case was to discontinue the investigation with the agreement of both parties.