All of thisThis is where it can get messy, when things are said in meetings or phone calls with no record. I would always follow up with an e-mail confirming what was said, agreed, proposed etc, so it was documented and not open to interpretation, and I was the employer
I would hope that your dealings with the NHS are fairly straightforward and you can come to a reasonable conclusion. I think that generally, the larger the organisation, the more likely it is to be done 'by the book' even if some people in the management chain don't understand fully, and hope that holds true