WGPlus (Archive)

Cover-ups in ‘bad practice’ lead to repeated mistakes in NHS treatments

People working in the NHS who raise concerns about poor quality care will receive more support under plans revealed by the national NHS bodies.  The national whistleblowing policy, drawn up by Monitor, the NHS TDA and NHS England, aims to improve services for patients and the working environment for staff across the health sector by improving how the service learns from whistleblowing.

The proposals, (to be adopted by NHS organisations after the consultation), detail who can raise concerns, how they should go about doing so, and how organisations should respond. The policy also sets out a commitment to listen to staff, learn lessons from mistakes and to properly investigate concerns when they are reported.

Researched Links:

Monitor:  Patients, staff and NHS organisations to have their say on first national whistleblowing policy

Should the attempted ‘silencing’ (especially in public sector organisations) of Whistle-blowers become a legal offence?

ScotGov:  Support for NHS whistleblowers

Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story