Health written question – answered at on 23 June 2014.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to ensure that hospitals do not discourage whistleblowing by staff; and if he will take steps to issue a UK NHS-wide policy on that matter.
We have been absolutely clear that national health service staff who speak out in the interests of patient safety must be protected and listened to and that we expect all NHS organisations to have whistleblowing policies in place that are compliant with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. On
In addition, the Department recently commissioned the Whistleblowing Helpline to update whistleblowing guidance for the NHS. This revised guidance “Raising Concerns at Work—Whistleblowing Guidance for workers and employers in Health and Social Care” was published on
www.wbhelpline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Raising-Concerns-at-Work.pdf
Employment law and policy (of which whistleblowing law and policy is a part), and health law and policy, are devolved matters in Northern Ireland. In Scotland and Wales employment law is not devolved, but health law is. Decisions about implementation of whistleblowing policy in the NHS in each part of the United Kingdom are therefore a matter for each of those areas.
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