Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSMP slams lack of support for nurse whistleblowers
Doctors and nurses should not have to risk their careers to voice concerns over patient care, an MP has argued.
Tony Wright, Labour MP for Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, suggested that the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act, which protects whistleblowers at work, was failing.
Mr Wright, who helped bring in the legislation, made the comments after the ability of medical staff to highlight problems was questioned during two high-profile NHS cases.
Last month, ‘appalling conditions’ at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust were revealed in a damning Healthcare Commission report.
Meanwhile, Margaret Haywood was struck off the nursing register after secretly filming neglected patients in a Brighton hospital.
Nurse whistleblower Margaret Haywood was struck off the nursing register after secretly filming for the BBC
Mr Wright called for the Government to reassess guidance and said the whole point of introducing whistleblower measures was that staff were able to voice concerns without damaging their career.
A catalogue of failings at Stafford Hospital were highlighted in the recent report, which said that ‘shocking’ standards of care for patients admitted through A&E put lives at risk and led to deaths.
Mr Wright said: ‘Doctors must have been appalled at the fact they could not deliver a proper level of care. Why weren’t they jumping up and down?’
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Readers' comments (1)
Anonymous | 20-Sep-2011 10:22 am
This is so annoyed to see NMC s action against Margaret haywood.But this only what we can expect fron NMC.Because the NMC judges are like tuned computer programmes,they only work in one way.They dont have the capacity to think. If we see most of the nurses are stuck by NMC are the most vulnerable nurses in the care field.They are the people who exposed to most bullying by the co workers.But nobody will listen to them,because their voice is not loud,and they are not the favourites.Groupism and bullying is badly happening in NHS.Especially to the overseas nurses,in this group they are excluded catagories.
Few years back i was badly bullied by my coworkers,i raised my voice agaist that.My manager and other coworkers apart from this group were very supportive to me.I got one represenitive from RCN,She was very friendly to me.During this period she told me she represent somebody else(somebody i know)and also she explained the entire incident to me,about him.Even though she was represending him,her attitude was against him and it was like she was happy that he lost his pin number at the end of the investigation.
When i heard this i was so angry,it was not because of him,because of this RCN representitive.I Thought RCN is there to help the most vulnerable and also i thought they keep the matters very confident.
SO WHOM WE CAN TRUST?
NHS is ruling by some ruthless managers and their favourites(mainly nurses),and NMC is acting only for them.
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