Rabu, 30 Mei 2012

British nurse told she was 'wrong colour' to get job in Cumbria and to 'go back where she came from' by colleague

British nurse told she was 'wrong colour' to get job in Cumbria and to 'go back where she came from' by colleague

  • British-born Sarina Saiger has Indian heritage
  • Told she was the 'wrong colour' to get top nursing job
  • Former top boss Bruce Skilbeck charged with two counts of misconduct against Saiger
  • Has already been awarded £115,000 in an employment tribunal after being sacked from her post in 2008
  • That tribunal ruled she had been subjected to an ‘intimidating, hostile environment'

By Amy Oliver

PUBLISHED: 11:29 EST, 29 May 2012 | UPDATED: 07:01 EST, 30 May 2012

A senior nurse was told by her boss that she was 'the wrong colour' to get  a top job in nursing, a misconduct hearing was told.

British-born Sarina Saiger, who has Indian heritage and a Phd, was advised to 'go back to where she came from' rather than try to become a director of nursing in Cumbria.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council heard how Dr Saiger's boss, Bruce Skilbeck, made the remarks during a 2005 appraisal into her performance.

Dr Saiger, who has already been awarded £115,000 in damages at an earlier tribunal after being sacked in 2008, said: ‘After we did a brief resume of the work I had been doing, I remember clearly he said technically I was the most brilliant nurse he had ever worked with. 

Victim: British, Dr Sarina Saiger, who has Indian heritage and a PhD, was labelled the 'wrong colour' to be a director of nursing in Cumbria

Victim: British, Dr Sarina Saiger, who has Indian heritage and a PhD, was labelled the 'wrong colour' to be a director of nursing in Cumbria

‘But I would never be a director of nursing in Cumbria because I was the wrong colour and wrong culture for the organisation.

‘He said I needed to go back to where I came from to get a director of nursing position.’

Skilbeck, who was the director of nursing for North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust but has now retired, has been hauled before the NMC charged with two counts of misconduct against Dr Saiger which was allegedly ‘racially motivated’

Halifax-born D r Saiger had been parachuted into the trust in 2004 to raise standards as assistant director of nursing.

She had excelled academically and harboured ambitions of going on to the top job, but was shot down by Skilbeck in the appraisal meeting on November 3, 2005, shortly after he joined the trust.

Dr Saiger added: ‘I was just stunned, I have been a nurse since 1986 and I’ve faced many things in nursing. 

‘It’s a difficult profession, but I never expected to hear that, not from someone who is supposed to be of an intellectually senior standing.’

A tearful Dr Saiger told the hearing how she was studying for her PhD and raising her son Michael while working in an increasingly hostile environment.

She said: ‘I was finding things out after the event, excluded from meetings. My PA Maria was absolutely loyal and would get me information because I wasn’t kept informed.

‘I didn’t have an office; I was working out of the back of my car. Other nurses and senior managers who were appointed after me were given an office and a desk, and access to equipment.

‘I was actually quite lonely.’

Eventually, Dr Saiger launched a grievance against the trust, including the comments made by Skilbeck.

But a prolonged investigation delivered a ‘whitewash’ which absolved senior managers of blame, she sa id.

She said: ‘It was just a farce really. It completely and utterly absolved everyone and anything.

‘They would find reasons, excuses, policies - everything I was saying was completely untrue.’

Skilbeck is also accused of violently grabbing Dr Saiger by the arm and dragging her along a corridor, on May 31, 2007.

Dr Saiger reported the incident, which left her with a badly bruised arm, to the police, but no charges were brought.

She was sacked from her £42,000-a-year post in 2008, but launched an employment tribunal case which ruled she had been a victim of a campaign of racially-motivated discrimination and harassment.

The tribunal found she had been subjected to an ‘intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment’.

The tribunal upheld 16 of her 27 complaints and awarded her £115,000 in damages.

Skilbeck, who is now retired, did not attend the hearing in central London today, but emailed papers to the NMC to support his case.

The hearing into his alleged misconduct continues.

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