An NHS doctor who was pursued for fingerprint and handwriting samples as hospital bosses hunted a whistleblower said the experience made her ill.
An independent report has called West Suffolk Hospital managers' hunt for an anonymous letter writer "incendiary".
Dr Patricia Mills, who was asked for samples, said she "felt that I was going to lose my career".
The hospital has apologised to her and the other staff involved.
The 226-page report from NHS Improvement has catalogued a string of failures in how the hospital's management handled concerns over an anaesthetist who had been seen injecting himself with painkilling drugs while caring for patients.
It also detailed how management had pursued Dr Mills when she spoke out, which was described by the Doctors' Association as a "witch-hunt".
The West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) began an internal investigation after a letter was sent to Jon Warby, a former police officer, whose wife Susan died at the hospital in 2018.
The letter, quoted in the critical report, stated: "We think you should know that the consultant anaesthetist who made the mistake with the fluid into the arterial drip in theatre should never have been at work.
"He had injected himself with drugs... while in charge of a patient and it was all hushed up and he was at work like nothing at all had happened - but we all knew the truth.
"You need to ask questions about this doctor and what investigations had been had about him before.
"We think...
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