Trust whistleblowing policies not up to scratch

Some NHS trusts continue to make it hard for healthcare staff to raise concerns about patient care, an investigation has revealed.

A comparison of whistleblowing policy documents, from 118 of the 122 NHS foundation trusts, with guidance from Public Concern at Work showed some in an unfavourable light.

Twenty two of the 118 trust policies do not give examples of the types of concerns that should be raised, while four do not mention the option for a person to raise concerns outside of the trust.

More than a third of trust policies say staff can go outside the trust with a concern, but insist that a person goes through management first. Some mention that staff must go to an outside organisation ‘in good faith’ but warn that there may be disciplinary action if they go to them unjustifiably.

A fifth of trust policies do not specifically say they will respect the confidentiality of the whistleblower, or it is not clear that they will do, and 106 trusts mention sanctions against any malicious or false claims made.

Twenty two trusts mention “disciplinary” in their policies, a term unlikely to make potential whistleblowers comfortable in coming forward with a concern, while 30 trusts mention staff have a duty, implied duty, or loyalty to the trust as well as to patient confidentiality.

Commenting on the results of the BMJ investigation, Peter Gooderham, a law lecturer at the University of Manchester, said trusts should give assurances of protecting the whistleblower’s confidentiality.

He said: “It should be made clear that the finger won’t be pointed at them if they take steps to raise a genuine concern.”

He added that policies need to be user friendly and encourage people to raise concerns.

Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the BMA consultants’ committee, said: “We get very concerned about doctors who fall foul of these whistleblowing policies while following their professional duty. Members continue to raise examples with us, and there are high profile cases, some of which take place in organisations that have good policies.”

To address these issues, Public Concern at Work is to launch a policy pack on whistleblowing for distribution throughout the NHS in June. It also recommends that trusts audit, review, and check how their whistleblowing policies are performing in practice and promote their use to staff regularly.

A recent BMA survey revealed that around 1 in 7 hospital doctors in England and Wales who reported concerns said that their trusts had indicated that by speaking up, their employment could be negatively affected.

Tags: Foundation trusts, Whistleblowing