Dozens of doctors convened a secret meeting in November over fears for patient safety at Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust, with consultants warning that wards had become “like war zones” where corridor care was normalised, staffing levels were dangerously low, and a culture of “bullying and fear” was silencing those who tried to speak up.
Minutes of the meeting, obtained by The Independent, reveal the scale of the crisis faced by the trust, which runs four hospitals in Bury, Rochdale, Salford and Oldham. Consultants described “systemic failings across the organisation” that had created “unsafe conditions” for patients and a workplace culture they labelled “fearful, toxic and silencing”. The document records a “significant loss of trust and confidence in executive leadership”, who were characterised as “absent, dismissive, and disconnected”.
One clinician, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned that vacant posts — including clinical roles — were not being filled to save money, and that “staff are leaving in droves due to unsafe workloads”. Another senior staff member reported “chaotic last-minute scheduling of surgery” and a “high number of serious surgical complications” in their department. Multiple respondents to a poll of around 426 consultants, the majority of whom work at Salford Royal Hospital, said they did not believe the trust was being well-led; more than a third suggested their hospitals were not safe.
The fear of reprisal runs deep. Whistleblowers from across the trust have come forward alleging that current executive leaders do not listen when safety concerns are raised. One worker said they did not feel comfortable speaking up about safety issues and alleged “things are brushed under the carpet”. Another damning comment claimed it had become “acceptable for us to work in substandard conditions where patient safety is compromised on a daily basis”. Staff claimed they were being advised to stop submitting safety reports because “management did not have time to deal with them”.
One doctor said they had resigned “because of the poor and unsafe care our patients received and an unaddressed culture of bullying and fear”. Another warned that Salford hospital faced “one of its most challenging positions in its history, having fallen from a place of excellence to one of disarray”. Several respondents drew comparisons with Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which was closed in 2014 following a scandal that saw between 400 and 1,200 avoidable patient deaths. “One quote at a divisional meeting recently from a senior doctor says it all: ‘We are not at a Mid Staffs level yet, but we are not far off.’ Terrifying,” one medic wrote. Some doctors claimed the trust was putting finances before safety, saying “money trumps safety” and that the trust cannot afford to buy “basic” protective equipment or staff wards.
The consultants’ meeting led them to write to the trust’s board, threatening a vote of no confidence in chief executive Owen Williams and medical director Dr Rafik Badir if there was no change within three months. In April, Mr Williams announced he was stepping down from his role, and since then several senior executives have also left. The consultant body had expressed “severe loss of confidence in current leadership, deep concerns for patient safety, a deteriorated culture, and a call for urgent structural and behavioural change”. The November minutes added: “We find ourselves in a failing organisation, and we do not feel equipped to deal with this.”
Admin staff and nurses also in revolt
Months before the doctors’ secret meeting, the trust received a collective grievance in June 2025 signed by representatives of 14 major unions, including Unison, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives, and Unite. Hundreds of administrative staff warned that “unachievable workloads” were creating unsafe backlogs in patients’ care. At a meeting with trust executives in October 2025, medical secretaries said they were “on the verge of resigning” as they felt their “well-being disregarded due to levels of stress/burnout”. Backlogs in typing letters for patients stretched between four and ten weeks, and there were “backlogs of investigations, which are a patient safety risk”, according to a summary of that meeting. The grievance warned that delays meant some patients ended up needing treatments they might not have required if seen sooner — such as dialysis. A source close to the matter said the grievance was escalated to a formal hearing in May, but the outcome has yet to be decided.
Meanwhile, critical care nurses have taken industrial action twice this year after the trust told them they could no longer work overtime. Staff in surgical theatres are also set to strike next week.
Regulatory action and inspections
This week, NHS England took formal enforcement action against the trust over fears that patients are not safe from harm. The trust faces fines or losing its licence if improvements are not made. The trust’s leadership is also being reviewed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and NHS England to determine whether it is well-led. The CQC has separately launched inspections of the trust’s gynaecology and surgery departments. The inspection of surgical services follows a formal warning issued after inspectors found patients at Salford Royal Hospital were being left without vital pain medication due to staffing shortages. Urine bottles were reportedly allowed to “stack up” on wards. The CQC warning notice requires improvements by February 2026, with potential for “special administration” if not met.
The news comes after an investigation revealed the trust was forced to review the care of hundreds of women at its Salford Royal Hospital gynaecology unit. Dozens of women, including cancer patients, had been harmed after their diagnosis and treatment were delayed due to “admin failures”. Separately, three years ago The Sunday Times reported allegations that the trust failed to act over concerns that orthopaedic surgeon Bradley Williamson had harmed dozens of patients.
Local MP Rebecca Long-Bailey is now calling for a transparent review of how whistleblowing concerns are handled across the trust. She said: “I continue to hear from staff across the trust who say they do not feel safe or supported when raising patient safety concerns. No member of NHS staff should ever feel fearful of speaking up in the public interest. A culture where whistleblowers feel marginalised or ignored is not only wrong for those individuals, it is dangerous for patients.”
Sheena McDonnell, trust chair, said the board was “sorry to hear” of the concerns raised, had met with consultant representatives, and had taken their complaints seriously. “As an organisation, we place great importance on colleagues being able to speak up about patient safety and quality issues,” she added. Sarah Hall, deputy chief delivery officer, said the trust took action after concerns were raised to strengthen support for colleagues, improve key processes, and reinforce that safety incidents must always be reported. “Patient safety remains our highest priority,” she said, adding that a temporary pause on recruiting to some non-clinical roles could still be overridden through the Vacancy Control Panel.
Despite these assurances, one doctor told The Independent the mood remains one of “anger and disbelief”. “The same people who have allowed Salford’s spectacular fall from grace over the last few years through underfunding, understaffing and a refusal to listen to the shopfloor workers’ views are now sending us emails saying that they acknowledge NHSE’s and the CQC’s concerns, that significant progress has already been made and that we still need to get better.”
