Whistleblower was unfairly dismissed in case lasting 12 years, tribunal rules

A whistleblowing consultant cardiologist who was suspended by an NHS trust from 2002 to 2007 and sacked in 2010 was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Raj Mattu was suspended by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in February 2002 on allegations of bullying,1 five months after he spoke to the BBC about the death of a 35 year old patient in an overcrowded bay at Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry.

Birmingham Employment Tribunal rejected a claim that his summary dismissal for gross misconduct in 2010 was because of his whistleblowing and decided that the reason for his sacking was his refusal to sign an action plan for reskilling after his return to work. He had argued that his retraining plan should …