Whistleblowing at the heart of bristol
18th January 2002
Dr. Stephen Bolsin, the anaesthetist who exposed the scandal of baby deaths at Bristol Royal Infirmary would have been fully protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act had it been in force at the time. Public Concern at Work, the whistleblowing charity, welcomes the government’s clarification of this important point during yesterday’s debate on the Government’s long awaited response to the Kennedy Report.
John Hutton MP Minister of State at the Department of Health told Parliament “We are completely satisfied that if the Act had been in force when Dr. Bolsin made his recommendations, it would have given him the necessary protection and cover, as it was designed to do.”
The Kennedy report identified “a club culture” where the interests of careers were put ahead of patient care and the lives of babies. Mr Alan Milburn, the Secretary of State for Health said “perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that concerns were raised in and indeed outside the hospital about standards of care in paediatric cardiac surgery. Many people knew what was happening but no one acted. The fact that it took a whistleblower, Dr. Stephen Bolsin, to bring the problems to the fore is perhaps the most serious indictment of the culture prevailing at that time”.
While PCaW recognises that work towards creating an open and accountable culture in the NHS has already begun, Deputy Director, Anna Myers warns “real change takes time and commitment. No one wants a situation where individuals like Dr. Stephen Bolsin have to take such risks to be heard. The challenge to all employers is to use the Act positively to encourage staff to raise concerns early and without fear.”
For further information on the Kennedy Report, click here.
Note to Editors
Public Concern at Work is an independent charity, which receives no state aid. It runs a free helpline for people worried about wrongdoing in the workplace but who are unsure whether or how to raise the concern. It trains leading companies, public bodies and the NHS on whistleblowing and accountability. It promotes and campaigns for the public interest at home and abroad. It also helped draft and promote the Public Interest Disclosure Act.