NHS whistleblower reveals all

Richard Hayes wants to share his experience of working in the NHS to raise awareness of the challenges faced by security teams contracted to work in busy hospitals.

Richard, 39, was contracted to work in a hospital trust in the south east of England, providing security for its wards and accident and emergency department.

For legal reasons, he has not named the hospital where he was based, but believes his experience was common to trusts across the country.

Adversarial – Private Security and Whistle-blowing Within The National Health Service is Richard’s first book, and will be released via online publisher Authors Online, and available on Amazon, Tesco.com, Noble and Barnes and via e-readers.

Richard, of Abbey Road, spent 10 months working at the hospital from 2009-2010 before he was suspended and taken off the contract.

He claims his dismissal was related to concerns he was raising about the safety of patients and staff in the wards and in the A+E department.

However the former soldier lost an employment tribunal and his complaints were not recognised by whistle blowing legislation.

He said he has written the book, which has been checked by legal teams, after feeling let down by the tribunal system, and compared his struggle to “David and Goliath”.

He said he hoped the book would make an impact.

“I have put a lot on the line to write this book,” he said.

“I have put my professional name as a security officer to something that sends out a message that I am willing to stand up and be counted and say this is wrong.

“I’m going to have my voice heard now.

“I’m not the sort of person to lay down and kowtow to the establishment.”

He said he had “lived and breathed” the book for the last year.

Richard entered the security industry after leaving the army and has worked as a security officer for 17 years.

After leaving the hospital he returned to Batley, where his mother lived, but was formerly based in central London.

His career has seen him work at the Saudi Arabian Embassy as well as protecting celebrities and other high-profile clients.