A Cumbrian nurse who was racially discriminated against has won £115,000 compensation.
Dr Sarina Saiger, a former assistant director of nursing at North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, was told in a November 2005 NHS appraisal she was the “wrong colour and wrong culture” for Cumbria.
A tribunal earlier ruled Saiger was racially discriminated against and unfairly dismissed from her job.
Saiger claimed that then-director of nursing Bruce Skilbeck made the comments when she enquired about possible promotion.
Skilbeck denied the accusation but the tribunal ruled it was more likely than not he had used those words, reports the BBC.
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The tribunal also heard Saiger, sacked in May 2008 after complaining she was unfairly dismissed because of her race, occasionally had to work from her car while desk space was occupied by white colleagues.
Trust chief executive Carole Heatly said: “We would like to offer an apology to Dr Saiger for the distress that this case has caused. The trust has learned many lessons from this case and embedded them.”