HEALTHCARE staff who “turn a blind eye” to sexual harassment in the workplace are jeopardising patient safety, doctors warned today.

Medics said that failing to challenge such behaviour allows toxic workplace cultures to persist. 

The warning came as members of the British Medical Association (BMA) called for NHS trusts to make active bystander training, which equips staff to challenge inappropriate behaviour, part of mandatory training.

Delegates at the union’s annual representative meeting in Liverpool also voted in favour of the BMA lobbying for a national anonymous reporting system for victims of sexual harassment.

Dr Helen Neary said: “People are bystanders at all levels and a working culture that turns a blind eye to this behaviour is also a risk to patient safety, enabling other poor behaviours to perpetuate.”

A motion put to the conference urged NHS organisations to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct using trained external investigators, rather than relying on internal trust procedures.

Dr Neary said: “Not only is [sexual misconduct] obviously completely unacceptable and has a devastating impact on victims but also affects the quality of care and workforce capacity, as poor behaviours will do nothing to retain staff in the NHS.”

In March, the latest NHS staff survey found that ne in 12 of workers had experienced unwanted sexual behaviour such as offensive comments, touching and assaults.

The figure is largely unchanged from 2023, when the question was first included in the survey.

Last October, NHS England launched a national sexual misconduct policy framework, setting out expectations for how NHS trusts should handle reports of harassment, but its adoption is not mandatory.

An NHS England spokesperson said staff experiencing sexual misconduct or harassment was “totally unacceptable” and had no place in the service. 

“All organisations must take robust and compassionate action to prevent it,” the spokesperson said.