A former employee at a troubled Welsh health board received a settlement payout after a colleague allegedly used the N-word to mock her. Samantha Morgan, who is of Jamaican and Portuguese heritage, sued Cardiff and Vale University Health Board for discrimination over the incident.
The admin worker felt she was failed by the health board – which runs Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales – as management decided to keep in post the employee accused of racial abuse. Samantha accepted a £5,000 settlement from the health board because she had been struggling with the demands of representing herself in the employment tribunal.
Alleged racist comment and managers' response
But the 56-year-old decided to share her story with WalesOnline after reading our recent reports on the hospital's toxic culture and weak management. We have revealed various controversial decisions by bosses not to dismiss employees after serious misconduct allegations – from snorting drugs on hospital premises to a male worker exposing his private parts in front of a young female colleague. One employee avoided suspension despite being arrested on suspicion of rape.
There have been damning internal reports into three separate hospital departments which have been plagued by horrendous bullying and management failings. "It's disgusting," said Samantha. "It's rife with bullying and you don't get any backing from managers."
The health board, which is under Welsh Government intervention due to "unacceptable" leadership failings, declined to comment on Samantha's case for confidentiality reasons. It did say: "Bullying, racism, or discriminatory behaviour are not acceptable and do not reflect the values and behaviours we expect from colleagues."
Samantha, who worked at the health board for two and a half years, did not have a tense relationship with the colleague who allegedly went on to racially abuse her. The only other incident she could remember was when they allegedly made a strange remark, saying they didn't like her dress.
"I told them: 'Well, it's a good job you're not wearing it.' And that was it. Apart from that we'd never had a cross word." Neither was there any obvious trigger for the alleged racist comment in 2024. Samantha claimed she was just walking past the colleague when they told her: "You look like a [N-word]."
They and another colleague allegedly then burst out laughing. "I was initially in complete shock," said Samantha. Shortly afterwards, still in disbelief, Samantha spoke to a friend in the workplace who told her: "Oh Sam, you've got to go and report that."
Meeting and aftermath
Samantha recalls having a meeting with two managers in which she began to explain what happened and was allegedly interrupted by one of them. "That's not what I was told," the manager allegedly said. "I asked what she'd been told and she said: 'They did admit calling you the name but they mouthed it to you.'"
Samantha denied this but asked the managers whether that would be acceptable even if it were true. There was no reply from either of them, according to Samantha, who also found it odd that notes were not taken during the meeting, she alleges. The managers told her they would continue looking into the matter but Samantha felt let down by the alleged lack of support.
"They expected me to come into work in the same room as the person who had called me that name," she claimed. A few days later Samantha was allegedly summoned to a meeting with the same two officers. Again no notes were taken, she claimed.
"They asked what the hell was going on to which I replied I was unsure what they were saying," Samantha alleged. "They both accused me of telling everyone in the hospital what had happened. I tried to defend myself and said the only person who knew what was going on was one colleague. I also said if people were going to ask me what had happened I was not going to lie.
"I was then told under no circumstances was I to talk to anyone about this matter. I came out of the room feeling very sad, deflated, and thinking to myself: 'What have I done wrong?'" After this meeting Samantha felt unable to deal with the stress of the situation and went on sick leave.
Settlement and broader issues
Weeks later she was further disillusioned when a manager emailed her confirming "the relevant proceedings have been concluded and the staff member in question will remain in the department". He refused to give further details for data protection reasons but claimed the matter "has been dealt with great consideration and seriousness" and that there had been a "proportional" outcome.
The manager went on: "As part of helping you to return you may wish to outline the impact the matter has had on you and share your feelings with the person who has caused you so much upset. This could be undertaken in writing and/or in person as per your preference. The intention would be for that person to understand more clearly how you have been affected and with, if you were willing, the opportunity to reply."
The health board did at this stage tell Samantha she could work at a different location – an offer she found wholly inadequate. She could not understand why her bosses considered it appropriate for the colleague to continue in their role. Samantha believes the stress she experienced during this period played a role in her suffering a mini-stroke after which she spent a week and two days as an inpatient in the University Hospital of Wales.
"During that time my workmates came to see me but not one of my managers did," she said. "They knew everything I was going through." Although she could not afford legal representation Samantha sued the health board for racial discrimination and victimisation. In her employment tribunal claim she wrote that her "deeply hurtful and isolating" experience had left her feeling marginalised.
"It has impacted my mental and emotional wellbeing, making it challenging to engage fully in my role within the NHS," she wrote. "Rather than feeling valued as a member of the team I have felt disrespected and unwelcome." A preliminary court hearing was held last year but Samantha said the health board did not file any papers in its defence or any evidence that would have given her some answers about the internal investigation. Instead it offered a £5,000 settlement with no admission of liability.
She felt this to be a paltry figure in the context of what she had been through but decided to take it. "I was doing the case all on my own and I just couldn't do it anymore without help," said Samantha, whose employment ended as part of the settlement. A Cardiff and Vale spokesman said: "The health board takes all concerns raised by staff seriously. We are committed to ensuring that any concerns are handled fairly, confidentially, and in line with employment law and national policies."
Samantha has since got a job as a dentist's receptionist and feels much happier in that role. But she has been upset to see regular stories from WalesOnline reminding her of her former employer's cultural rot.
One report examined the University Hospital of Wales operating theatres department where racism, drug use, and "outright criminal behaviour" were said to have been tolerated. A senior leader in the department kept her job after saying a group of Indian nurses needed name badges because they "all looked the same". Another internal review focused on the sterilisation unit and made findings of sabotage, physical violence, an alleged poisoning attempt, and "systematic failure at all levels of the organisation".
And last month we revealed the health board had covered up a third report. That investigation was into the cardiology department, which had been plagued by bullying for years, leaving one cardiac physiologist close to taking his own life. One electroconvulsive therapy clinic manager, Kara Hannigan, subjected colleagues to horrific bullying and harassment. Bosses failed to act on her victims' complaints for years and action was only taken after staff resorted to getting an external regulator involved.
Another former hospital employee, Cherrill Atkinson, told us she witnessed a colleague snorting a white powder on the premises. She reported the matter to HR but was told they were already aware he had "confidential" issues. He later received a promotion. We also revealed one employee kept his job despite a disciplinary investigation upholding an allegation he had exposed his private parts to a young female colleague.
The health board has been in level four escalation since June last year because of problems including mammoth waits for appointments, a high level of never events, rising financial deficit, and poor leadership. The organisation has faced a near-constant stream of scandals over the last 18 months and its former chief executive Suzanne Rankin recently announced her departure from the £245,000-per-year role for an NHS trust in England.
Disastrous incidents ranged from an unconscious patient falling from an operating table while their gallbladder was being removed to a surgical swab accidentally being left at the back of a patient's throat for more than 24 hours following surgery. We also revealed allegations of unauthorised visitors being invited in to watch operations. An inquest recently found a University Hospital of Wales patient, Donald Gough, had died after being wrongly injected with insulin following multiple failings and system breakdown.
Gareth Idris Johnson, a 41-year-old dad, lost his life after the hospital's maintenance problems led to him being moved to a different unit following an operation. A coroner warned of more deaths without urgent action. Whistleblowers have frequently spoken to us about the awful state of the pigeon-infested site. A letter from almost 300 doctors accused the health board of inaction on the hospital's problems with staff morale at an "all-time low". Its dilapidated condition is understood to have been a factor in Wales losing a vital £8m cancer facility.
The Welsh Government recently published an independent assessment that found "unacceptable" deficiencies in leadership, culture, governance, planning, and organisational capacity. Health minister Mabon ap Gwynfor said he would "not allow such issues to continue".
