Cardiac doctor fired after 15 years of staff bullying, tribunal hears

An NHS adviser has been sacked after bullied colleagues refused to work with her, a court has been told.

The heart specialist Dr. Gail Richardson reportedly intimidated staff for 15 years with her “confrontational, rude and demanding” behavior.

One nurse had sleepless nights before working with her and even hid from her during the shift.

dr Richardson was eventually fired by NHS bosses at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, in August 2020 over the “irrecoverable breakdown” in relations with her older colleagues.

Leicester Tribunal heard she was the subject of nine investigations between 2007 and 2019, including bullying and harassment.

After a disciplinary committee recommended her dismissal in 2018, she successfully appealed. But two doctors submitted a document highlighting their “great concern” about her reappointment.

A senior cardiologist described it as a disaster, and an October 2019 inquest found she would be difficult to reintegrate. dr Richardson called for a wrongful dismissal against the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust but her latest appeal was dismissed.

Labor judge Kirsty Ayre said: “I am pleased that Dr. Richardson was fired because of a breakdown in working relationships between her and her senior colleagues on the cardiology team.

“Dr. Richardson seemed to disregard the feelings of others and to see very little of the impact their behavior was having on her colleagues.”

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