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FOI Request 2227 - Whistleblower Guidance |
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Written by FOI Lead
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| Case Number |
2227 |
| Request Date |
12/12/2010 |
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Details of the Request
- Is there any case law or any other pieces of legislation or other pieces of NHS or professional guidance which protect any possible 'whistleblower.’?
- Does the duty to inform of 'wrongdoing' extend to other staff: legal advisors, managers and social social workers ,nurses and care assistants as well as doctors as well?
- Does it include a duty to inform of potential ‘wrongdoing’ that has come to light in other trusts and the like?
- What punishment is meted out to those who know of alleged wrongdoing and remained silent?
- How many staff members have ‘whistleblown’ in your organisation?
- Which department were they in?
- How many are still employed there?
- What were the outcomes of the attempt to ‘whistleblow’?
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| Completion Date |
04/01/2011 |
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Details of the Response
Thank you for your request to Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust regarding whistleblowing.
The Trust’s Assistant Director of Workforce has responded as follows:
- Is there any case law or any other pieces of legislation or other pieces of NHS or professional guidance which protect any possible ‘whistleblower.’?
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 provides legal protection against victimisation or dismissal for individuals who disclose information in order to raise genuine concerns and expose malpractice in the workplace.
The Statement of Terms and Conditions of Employment at Ashford and St. Peter's contains a clause regarding "Whistle-blowing" which states that concerns will be taken seriously and investigated and gives a guarantee that if concerns are raised responsibly, the Trust will endeavour to protect the member of staff raising the concern against victimisation.
The Trust’s Whistle Blowing Policy likewise states, “Your concerns will be taken seriously and investigated. We also give you a guarantee that if you raise concerns responsibly, we will endeavour to protect you against victimisation”.
- Does the duty to inform of ‘wrongdoing’ extend to other staff: legal advisors, managers and social workers, nurses and care assistants as well as doctors as well? Does it include a duty to inform of potential wrongdoing that has come to light in other trusts and the like?
Yes. The Statement of Terms and Conditions of Employment at Ashford and St. Peter's mentioned above states the "All employees working in the NHS have a contractual right, and a responsibility, to raise genuine concerns they have with their employer about malpractice, patient safety, financial impropriety or any other serious risks they consider to be in the public interest."
The NHS Constitution says that it expects its staff to:
- Contribute to a climate where the truth can be heard and the reporting of, and learning from, errors is encouraged
- Welcome feedback and address concerns promptly and in a spirit of co-operation.
The NMC Code of Professional Conduct states under the section ‘work with others to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of those in your care, their families and carers, and the wider community:
- You must act without delay if you believe that you, a colleague or anyone else may be putting someone at risk.
- You must put your concerns in writing if problems in the environment of care are putting people at risk.
The duties to report concerns are not limited by organisational boundaries. They are general duties.
- What punishment is meted out to those who knew of alleged wrongdoing and remained silent?
Potentially this could be classed as misconduct and dealt with under the Trust's Disciplinary Policy.
- How many staff members have ‘whistleblown’ in your organisation? Which department were they in? How many are still employed there? What were the outcomes of the attempt to ‘whistleblow’?
The Trust’s Whistle Blowing Policy states that concerns should be raised to line managers or professional heads of service for local resolution. No central record of such concerns is kept. There have been not been any concerns where a lack of local action has caused the concerns to be escalated to the Director of Workforce and Organisational Development or the Chief Executive in accordance with the Policy.
- Despite pieces of legislation and professional guidance such as these nearly 90% of severance packages between NHS Trusts and departing doctors contain confidentiality clauses. The charity Public Concern at Work states that the law protects whistleblowers even if they have signed confidentiality arrangements.
- How many confidentiality arrangements have been reached with former staff members?
- What was the value of each agreement?
- Does the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act make it illegal for NHS Trusts and other public bodies to include confidentiality clauses preventing the disclosure of information that is in the public interest? If not do they still have a duty to inform their professional body or indeed anyone else? Does this extend to any ‘act or omission’ (a term used in the Human Rights Act) on the part of your organisation?
See above 4 above. a) b) and c) We have not entered into any confidentiality agreements, which prevent individuals making protected disclosures.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 09 June 2011 10:24 )
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