2022 Dec;78(12):4135-4149. doi: 10.1111/jan.15365. Health and social care is a challenging sector both to work in and to be reliant upon. 'Whistleblowers' are protected by law and there should be no risk of job loss or unfair treatment as a consequence. And yet, as the author observes, there is . Always treat anyone making a complaint with respect. Raising concerns at work, often known as whistleblowing, is the act of reporting a concern about a risk, wrongdoing or illegality at work, in the public interest. There is no requirement for a member of staff to show that an allegation is factual, simply that they have enough evidence to raise an alarm. GPs, dentist and pharmacists) complaints can be made to NHS England.Secondary care (e.g. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The list of negative consequences to whistleblowing seems endless: broken promises to fix the problem, disillusionment, isolation, humiliation, formation of an "anti-you" group, loss of job, questioning of the whistleblower's mental health, vindictive tactics to make the individual's work more difficult and/or insignificant, assassination of character, formal reprimand, and difficult court proceedings (Ahern & McDonald, 2002; Brodie, 1998; Fletcher et al., 1998; Wilmot, 2000). Registered Company No. Unfortunately, this is not the reality for some adults. This implies that it will have an impact on others. This is commonly based on something they have seen in the the management or delivery of care. If you are a health or social care worker and you find yourself approached regarding a complaint, it is important to deal with the situation calmly, empathetically and appropriately. You will also need to ensure that your complaint is covered by whistleblowing law or whether it's another matter that needs to be dealt with differently. Whistleblowing in health and social care shares some common features with whistleblowing in other sectors. The quality of care or treatment received. Alternatively, you can raise your concern directly with NHS England by following the guidance outlined, You will be protected by law if you blow the whistle on wrongdoing in your organisation, namely by the, (PIDA). In general, and in the first instance, a complaint can be made to the service provider directly by following their complaints procedure. Alerting managers to potential risks, wrongdoing or malpractice long. Not being believed is a source of anxiety. More research is needed on wrongdoing and whistle-blowing on it in healthcare. Even though Mr. Adams lost his job, he must have felt a sense of achievement for speaking out about patient safety issues. Whilst an individuals cause for complaint can be personal and specific to them and their circumstances, generally speaking there are some common reasons for issues to arise. The person making the disclosure is not usually directly or personally affected by concerns they raise and they rarely have a personal interest in the outcome of an investigation. Whistle-blowing and workplace culture in older peoples' care: qualitative insights from the healthcare and social care workforce. If you have anything to say, dont be afraid to do so. Visit our, Author guidelines for clinical comment pieces, Nursing Times Workforce Summit and Awards, New bitesize learning videos on the science of support surfaces, Exclusive: NMC chief responds to challenges facing profession, Exclusive: Call to recognise older peoples nurses on register, Dementia 1: types, risk factors, and recognising signs and symptoms, Dont miss your latest monthly issue of Nursing Times, Shining a light on students, their experiences and achievements, An educational environment nurturing the workforce of the future. Whistleblowing is not the same as making a complaint or raising a grievance. 1. Whereas, a person who makes a complaint has often been personally affected by their grievance. All establishments that provide a healthcare service to adults should ensure that the working environment encourages employees to challenge poor and dangerous practices. If youre still unsure about whistleblowing and why it is so important, we at Access are here to help. Please see our. Cite this: Whistleblowers: Troublemakers or Virtuous Nurses? This extends beyond formal contracts of employment and includes agency workers and volunteers. Outside of directly complaining to a service provider there are other bodies you may need to complain to. A total of 397 Finnish healthcare professionals participated, 278 of whom had either suspected or observed wrongdoing in healthcare, which established the data for this article. This should help to encourage employees to raise concerns internally first by following the procedures set out in the company whistleblowing policy. Fortunately, whistleblowers have rights. Papinaho O, Hggman-Laitila A, Kangasniemi M. Nurs Ethics. Instances of insiders calling out corruption, lawbreaking, and unethical behavior are happening all the time. There are many prescribed bodies who you can blow the whistle to and who will accept your disclosure. J Patient Saf. They will be able to help NHS and social care workers answer this question and can offer free and confidential legal advice. This will help reduce the risk of harm to service users, colleagues or the wider public. This policy should outline the organisations whistleblowing procedure and provide a detailed explanation about what staff members should do if they suspect instances of wrongdoing. -Medscape-Oct01,2008. Who are the interested parties? Keywords: Confidentiality. Those who speak up about poor, corrupt or unethical practice often do so at a great personal cost. We took regulatory action in response to all the disclosures we received in 2018/19. 2022 Dec 31;15(1):2140494. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2022.2140494. Rather, they look to better schools and teachers to close achievement gaps, and consistently come up short. If you suspect that somebody is suffering mistreatment, then you must raise your concern and report it. The cons of encouraging whistleblowing at work include the potential for reputational damage to the business, particularly if the exposure occurs in the public domain. Be clear, factual, specific and polite. There are numerous benefits to having a complaints procedure in place, not only for a service user but for the service provider themselves. During the Bristol heart surgery incident, Dr. Steve Bolsin expressed concerns regarding mortality, leading to a Public Inquiry report in 2001. Riverside Business Park, Dansk Way, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 8JZVAT Reg. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. As far as I can tell, Dr. Reynolds has overcome this obstacle and filed a formal lawsuit.. Health and safety. A culture of open communication amongst your personnel can be fostered by encouraging them to come to you with concerns. All complaints should be recorded, investigated and dealt with correctly and there should always be a response provided within an appropriate time frame. Its a smart move since it makes it easier to catch teachers and students who are engaging in unethical behavior. Please note that unless your case is in the public interest, certain complaints are not covered by whistleblowing law. Whistleblowing is where staff report concerns about wrongdoing, most commonly seen at work. This may be within or outside the UK. If the complaint happens to involve both, then the ombudsman will work together. Poor communication, either between professionals and an individual, or between different health professionals or organisations. What Legislation Provides Support to Whistle blower? Furthermore, while prescribed bodies will be able to discuss and investigate your concern, they are not in a position to offer you specific legal advice, so you should seek legal help if you think you will need it. Our Whistleblowing Essentials online training course aims to change this. If you get all of the pre-test questions correct, you will not need to complete any additional topics in this course. A miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur. The list of negative consequences to whistleblowing seems endless: broken promises to fix the problem, disillusionment, isolation, humiliation, formation of an "anti-you" group, loss of job,. A whistleblower is a person who reveals unlawful, dishonest, harmful, or fraudulent activities in an institution. For example, you may need to fill in a critical incident form first. Whistleblowing in the health and social care industries is critical because of the devastating impact that negligence can have on patients and consumers. You are protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) if you make a disclosure in good faith, you reasonably believe that information and any allegations contained in it are substantially true and making the disclosure does not involve committing a criminal offence. You will take a short pre-test to see how much you already know about whistleblowing. Required fields are marked *. As well as protecting service users, whistleblowing can have other positive outcomes within the health and social care sector, making its importance even more significant. Whistleblowing is not the same as making a complaint or raising a grievance. Before The dangers of encouraging whistleblowing. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. . Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland (Tehy) trade union. You can update your choices at any time in your settings. If you work within the NHS and provide primary care, including if you work in a GP surgery, dental practice, opticians, or pharmacy, then you can raise any concerns you have by using the contact details available on the NHS website. Pohjanoksa J, Stolt M, Suhonen R, Leino-Kilpi H. J Adv Nurs. The Consequences of Whistle-blowing: An Integrative Review. An appointment or treatment being postponed or cancelled. If you are a healthcare professional, you have a duty of care towards the adults in your care and a responsibility to draw attention to poor practice in your workplace. Whistleblowing in the care sector is the term used when someone raises concerns about poor care practice or wrongdoings which cause harm or risk of harm to service users, colleagues or the wider public. 5. You've successfully added to your alerts. However, your career may still suffer because of your choice. You will receive email when new content is published. PIDA will protect you if you make a protected. Glob Health Action. On 16 February 2023, an article by People Management reported that a study by whistleblowing and compliance services provider Safecall, which surveyed HR managers and directors from 222 organisations, found that that while 17 per cent of respondent organisations lacked a whistleblowing policy, the majority (83 per cent) did have one in place . Your identity doesnt have to be divulged without your consent unless the body is legally obliged to uncover it. A robust and . Whistleblowers expose unethical or illegal behavior when it occurs within a business or even within a federal agency, allowing those responsible to be held accountable. This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties. They provide useful flowcharts to show complaints processes, complaint letter templates and the dos and donts of making a complaint. Whistleblowing is an essential part of safeguarding adults. We have mentioned the importance of good communication and the role it plays in reducing the need for complaints to arise. In raising the concern, the individual must not themselves be committing an offence. Whistleblowing in the health and social care industries is critical because of the devastating impact that negligence can have on patients and consumers. It should provide sufficient information to the public to inform them how a complaint can be made, and help them understand the procedure, this may involve having different user-friendly formats available. However, if you have already tried to do this and have been unsuccessful in getting anywhere, or you would rather speak to someone who isnt involved in the situation, there are other options you can consider. If you have genuine problems, you should raise them within the council; rather than ignoring them or blowing the whistle on the outside the council. The behaviour of staff, for example if they are rude or unempathetic. However, it is worth noting that a clear, effective and robust complaints procedure is key in preventing any issues from escalating further and causing a need for staff to resort to Whistleblowing to address the problem. No: 923 6593 07 | Registered in the UK: 6428976. However, staff may also need to complain about the quality of care being provided if they have witnessed a situation that has caused, or risks causing, harm to a service user. Con: Your Career Could Suffer Employers are prohibited from seeking revenge after an employee has exposed them for fraudulent activity. A complaints procedure also forces accountability, keeping an official record of the complaint and having a legal obligation to investigate, prevents it from simply being ignored. 6. It also defines the simple steps they can take to report wrongdoing, along with the protection and support they will be given should they ever need to do this. Whistle-blowing is an ethical activity that tries to end wrongdoing. Home > FAQs > What is Whistleblowing in Health and Social Care? It is seen across all industry sectors and is gathering momentum as an increased emphasis on transparency sweeps through society. If you have a problem with how youve been treated at work, you should file a complaint using the established procedures for filing complaints of harassment. Benefits of the use of social media platforms in health care are significant and far-reaching.