Edinburgh Napier University

  Bullying and harassment is a significant predicament that midwives face on a regular basis. Bullying and harassment may be characterized by unpleasant, threatening, malevolent or offensive behaviour. It involves abuse or misuse of power intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or harm the recipient. Deliberate bullying and/or harassment can have a major impact upon physical and mental health, as well as function within role. There are consequences for the persecutor, victim and institution in terms of health, cost and reputation. The objective of this paper is to provide managers with solutions to diminish levels of bullying and harassment within maternity units. To this effect, a bullying and harassment protocol has been written to guide managers to use appropriate strategies to diminish the intensity of bullying and harassment within their unit. To audit success, a Bullying and Harassment Scale (BAHS) has been devised to measure effectiveness of interventions targeted at reducing the problem.