Government moves to encourage NHS whistleblowers are welcomed
21 February 2007
These comments are on today’s publication of the Government’s response to the Shipman Inquiry recommendations on whistleblowing - see chapter 5 on Complaints and Concerns.
Wake up call for private operators
The Government’s announcement that whistleblowing arrangements will be extended across the NHS is welcomed today by Public Concern at Work. The charity says that while the hospitals and GPs have made good progress in this area in the last five years, the decision to extend this now to cleaning contractors, PFI operators and independent treatment centres will help improve patient safety and tackle fraud.
‘Shop-a-Shipman’ – proposal dropped
Public Concern at Work is also pleased that the Government has not announced, as leaks had suggested, that it will introduce a ‘Shop-a-Shipman’ hotline. The charity says such a hotline would be open to abuse and would undermine team-working across the NHS. While the charity says the Government is right to strengthen local accountability, it says this will not work unless doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers have access to independent advice on how to raise concerns about patient safety. The Chairman of the Shipman Inquiry, Dame Janet Smith, has called for such advice to be available, noting that had it existed at the time “it is possible that the last few years of Shipman's murderous career might have been curtailed”.
To tackle this, Public Concern at Work say that the central guidance on whistleblowing in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance needs to be overhauled so that it provides accurate and helpful guidance to departments on the whistleblowing law and the new Civil Service Code. The charity also recommends that all Departments survey staff confidence in their whistleblowing arrangements and review how they are working in practice.
Contact: Guy Dehn work 020 7404 6609