‘Significant proportion’ of health workers afraid to speak out

By The Press Association11th February 2015News EnglandNews England, NHS, Whistleblowing, Workforce

The chairman of a review into the treatment of NHS whistleblowers has heard “shocking” stories about staff who were afraid to speak out and felt suicidal after their safety concerns were ignored.

Sir Robert Francis QC said “time and time again” he heard from staff who were “bullied” after raising concerns about poor patient care.

The findings of the Freedom to Speak Up review, which was ordered by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, are due to be published later.

In an interview before the review’s publication, Sir Robert (pictured) told the BBC a “significant proportion” of health workers were afraid to speak out.

He said: “Time and time again people say to me they either want to complain about the behaviour of others towards them or, when they do raise a concern about the working environment or the way patients are being treated, the reaction to them has been one of being bullied.

“I’ve heard some frankly shocking stories about (staff) whose health has suffered, and in rare cases who’ve felt suicidal as a result of their perception of them being ignored or worse.”

One doctor who exposed safety concerns at a hospital said whistleblowers in the NHS were being persecuted “on a grand scale”.

Cardiologist Raj Mattu publicly exposed overcrowding and fears for patient safety at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry in 2001, claiming there might have been avoidable deaths as a result.

He told BBC Breakfast he “couldn’t possibly recommend” other NHS staff voicing safety concerns because of the lack of “sufficient protections”.

Dr Mattu said: “It’s frustrating and depressing to hear that whilst there is often and periodically noises made about … protecting whistleblowers, the reality is there are very few palpable, material changes that take place.

“Today even, the culture is very unsafe. There is still ongoing persecution of whistleblowers on a grand scale.

“Large numbers of managers in the NHS are in there for a different reason to the nurses and doctors. Most of us come in because we want to care for people. Managers largely come from a background of wanting a career in management.

“Many of us who are whistleblowers feel compelled and a moral obligation to speak up.

“I saw practices in my hospital that were putting patient safety and lives at risk.”

Dr Mattu said any further recommendations after Sir Robert’s review were “of no value if they are not going to be enforced”, and called for independent scrutiny of whistleblowing concerns in the NHS.

He added: “At this moment in time, as of today, I don’t believe there are sufficient protections in place that are of any value. I couldn’t possibly recommend anybody else whistleblow at this moment and go through the sort of ordeal I and others have gone through.”