Does PIDA support NHS Whistleblowers?

[IanA2]

Patients First http://www.patientsfirst.org.uk/ have today published the thematic review of the cases of seventy NHS whistleblowers that they submitted to Sir Robert Francis's Freedom to Speak Up Review https://freedomtospeakup.org.uk/ PF's legal team was headed by Patrick Green QC of Henderson Chambers.

The three key messages are:

1. There should be zero tolerance of bullying.

Bullying compromises patient safety and harms staff. A survey undertaken earlier this year by Nursing Times, indicated almost half of nurses reported being bullied for having raised concerns.

2. In an attempt to obscure the size of the problem and minimise the issue, NHS Employers define Whistleblowing as only happening when the whistleblower reports externally. PIDA thinks otherwise.

Employers can turn the situation around tomorrow by looking at staff engagement and ensuring they act to end bullying behaviours in their organisations.

3. Systemic failure.

The situation is intolerable for patients and PF are calling for a public inquiry into the treatment of whistleblowers and for some form of restorative justice.

Here is the NT coverage with link to the Thematic Review.

http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/speci...

[IanA2]

Posts about parking tickets generate more interest.

[aw51 121565]

If you read Private Eye then, on occasion, you will read that whistleblowers can be and are hung out to dry. These whistleblowers tend to be in senior positions. So the answer to your question might be "sometimes yes, sometimes no"...

But some NHS Trusts have certain, errm, issues and treat their staff in this way despite telling everyone at induction that "whistleblowers will be protected!" (I guess under PIDA? it's a couple of years since I last attended an NHS induction).

As a parallel, it can be the same with formal complaints from patients and relatives to some NHS Trusts, where said complaints are disregarded and even dismissed with "we're right, you're wrong!" in the air.

It's institutionalised in some places that said places stay in their discrete comfort zones, with the exclusion of change by denying everything (and punishing those who dare to rock the boat, whether they be whistleblowers or disgruntled patients or relatives).

PIDA or no PIDA, this is how it is. A scrappy response, admittedly, with no real answer but plenty of discussion of a cosmic shambles to be had...

[The jiffle king]

I can only talk about 2 hospital trusts where 1 had a great culture and bullying was not tolerated. I will say that the number of grievances raised was incredible and used due to the lack of training for managers
The other is very different. The culture is one where it is acceptable to shout, storm out of meetings, demand things and generally behave in a poor manner.

Both Trusts function and support patients, but one is much better to work in and much more constructive.. I know this does not answer the question, but I don't think that many Trusts have invested in manager training and the systems/processes do not encourage a culture of openness

[Red Devil]

And parking tickets don't have the potential to be life threatening either.
Robert Francis chaired the public enquiry into the Mid Staffordshire debacle.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffor...

Almost as big a scandal is how those in senior positions 'get away with murder'.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/heal-our-hospita...

How on earth do people like Martin Yeates and Cynthia Bower then walk into cushy top jobs before being finally getting the boot?
Are those responsible for recruiting decisions as inept as the people they hire?
http://www.channel4.com/news/mid-staffordshire-hea...

Whistleblowing alone is not enough if those who fail so spectacularly are allowed to carry on regardless elsewhere.
The guillotine blade eventually falls but far far too late.

[IanA2]

aw51 121565 said:

If you read Private Eye then, on occasion, you will read that whistleblowers can be and are hung out to dry. These whistleblowers tend to be in senior positions. So the answer to your question might be "sometimes yes, sometimes no"...

But some NHS Trusts have certain, errm, issues and treat their staff in this way despite telling everyone at induction that "whistleblowers will be protected!" (I guess under PIDA? it's a couple of years since I last attended an NHS induction).

As a parallel, it can be the same with formal complaints from patients and relatives to some NHS Trusts, where said complaints are disregarded and even dismissed with "we're right, you're wrong!" in the air.

It's institutionalised in some places that said places stay in their discrete comfort zones, with the exclusion of change by denying everything (and punishing those who dare to rock the boat, whether they be whistleblowers or disgruntled patients or relatives).

PIDA or no PIDA, this is how it is. A scrappy response, admittedly, with no real answer but plenty of discussion of a cosmic shambles to be had...

1. Indeed, generally the more senior the WB, the more oppressive the management response.

2. HSC is currently looking into the way patient complaints are dealt with. Anne Clwyd's report provides insights in this area.

Generally very few WB's succeed at ET's. The issues they raise eg patient safety, are not dealt with and the acrimonious sequelae of this failure is turned in a "breakdown of relationships" justifying, when brought before an ET, the dismissal of the WB. Indeed, the more serious the safety issues raised, the less likely the WB is likely to succeed. Few WB's go back to work in the NHS, a huge loss to the service.

[IanA2]

The jiffle king said:

I can only talk about 2 hospital trusts where 1 had a great culture and bullying was not tolerated. I will say that the number of grievances raised was incredible and used due to the lack of training for managers
The other is very different. The culture is one where it is acceptable to shout, storm out of meetings, demand things and generally behave in a poor manner.

Both Trusts function and support patients, but one is much better to work in and much more constructive.. I know this does not answer the question, but I don't think that many Trusts have invested in manager training and the systems/processes do not encourage a culture of openness

On 11th February 2014, Sir Robert Francis in his oral evidence to the HSC stated: "We now have unanimity among those who are leaders of the Government and everywhere else that suppressing whistleblowers is absolutely wrong. It seems to me that any chief executive, any board, that is found to be guilty of that should be sacked. I put that absolutely bluntly. There can be no excuse any longer. If you want culture change, if a step or two like that could be taken—and it is far from me to comment, but it may be there are some opportunities out there—then I would suggest that that ought to be done"

That would be a start to safer care.

[IanA2]

And for a bit of flavouring:

“There is a difference between raising concerns, which many staff do every day, and blowing the whistle outside the organisation, which PIDA would protect them from. Part of the debate has become confused, in that we sometimes say whistleblowing when we mean raising concerns, and we sometimes say raising concerns when we mean whistleblowing, but we know from all the surveys that come out that something like 90% of staff know how to raise a concern; the vast majority of them feel safe to do so; staff say they are encouraged in their organisations to raise concerns.….. we have to avoid the confusion between staff not feeling able to raise concerns and what sometimes gets referred to as whistleblowing."


Dean Royles, Chief Executive NHS Employers. Health Committee Oral evidence: Complaints and raising concerns, HC 350. Tuesday 8 July 2014 Q437

[IanA2]

Given the number of lawyers that usually put in their tuppence worth, I'm surprised that such an important issue hasn't generated more interest; so I've re-posted in health matters.