A FORMER hospital worker who says he was forced out of his job for whistleblowing has lost an employment tribunal.

Mark Wyeth, 54, said he twice reported to his bosses at Salisbury District Hospital allegations that a colleague, referred to as only OPD1, took anaesthetic taken from store cupboards at the hospital.

He said the colleague had used the anaesthetic and fallen asleep while on shift.

As previously reported in the Journal, an employment tribunal heard in October that ODP1 was found unresponsive on a number of occasions by staff in late 2012.

But a hospital investigation cleared the staff member, saying an underlying medical condition could not be ruled out.

Mr Wyeth won an earlier tribunal for unfair dismissal. Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust was ordered to pay him £18,770.

But Mr Wyeth wanted to go further and the appeal in October related directly to the claim that he was forced from his job because he was a whistleblower.

He argued that he had reported ODP1 for drug taking 18 months before the official investigation was launched and managers at the hospital sidelined him by moving his shifts from night to day.

At the tribunal he said: “I assert the reason for my dismissal was because I made a protected disclosure in January 2011 and in failing to deal with that properly she [his manager] left patients at genuine risk. Had it become known I had made such a disclosure and she failed to deal with it, she could have been in trouble.”

Employment Judge Bridges said Mr Wyeth’s move to the day team was not because he was a whistleblower but simply because management wanted to “stabilise the night team”.

Mr Wyeth had submitted an official complaint on a friend of ODP1 after they had a disagreement surrounding the investigation.

Hospital bosses said they found it easier to move Mr Wyeth as the friend was a specialist and his skills on the night shift were in short supply.

His line manager failed to investigate the complaint but Judge Bridges said this was unrelated to the whistleblowing as the boss was unaware of the disclosures which were made.

Judge Bridges also ruled the hospital had not intentionally kept Mr Wyeth out of the investigation.

He rejected the claim Mr Wyeth was forced out as a direct result of his whistleblowing.

The hospital said they were pleased with the judgement.