Received from: HCSA
We must make the health service safer, before the next patient safety scandal. 70 per cent of hospital doctors believe it is not possible to raise patient safety concerns without detriment to their careers. This brings into sharp focus the need for sweeping reform to protect those who report safety concerns.
Congress recognises endemic failures by some NHS employers to seriously address internal disclosures. Even worse, those who speak out are all too often branded ‘troublemakers’. Trade unions support many members who have been victimised after raising the alarm. Victimisation frequently devastates careers and lives.
In 2019, Congress endorsed the position that an independent national whistleblowing agency outside of the NHS must be established to protect those who speak up. Within the NHS, we must champion stronger governance to facilitate a cultural change from top to bottom. It is also time for detriment of those who speak up at work to be considered a criminal act. This would represent a powerful deterrent against victimisation.
Congress calls on General Council to campaign for:
i. an independent whistleblowing agency
ii. a new criminal offence of causing detriment to those who make protected disclosures
iii. a duty on NHS governing boards to monitor whistleblowing cases with individual members held to account for enforcement.
Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association