Whistleblowers in the National Health Service are set to gain extra protection under changes to its constitution
The reforms, announced yesterday, follow a year-long consultation sparked by alleged persecution of staff who raise concerns about bad practice, mismanagement or misconduct at work.
From early next year, the constitution will clarify the legal right for staff to blow the whistle on any wrongdoing without detriment to themselves. It will add an expectation that staff should express their concerns at the earliest opportunity.
NHS organisations will then have to ensure that these disclosures are fully investigated and that there is someone outside the team concerned to whom these can be taken.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: ‘The first lines of defence against bad practice are the doctors and nurses doing their best to care for patients.
‘They need to know that they have a responsibility to their patients to raise concerns if they see risks to patient safety.’
Those who did would find ‘the government stands full square behind them’, he added.
The Department of Health said many respondents to its consultation had said these changes should be ‘part of a wider programme of action to ensure a stronger and more consistent culture of openness and transparency in the NHS’.
