News

No problems, please – we’re the NHS

Almost one third of 2000 NHS staff surveyed by Unison said their trust would rather not be told if there was a major problem.

And one third had faced reprisals for blowing the whistle on bad practice in the health service, despite government guidance to the contrary, say researchers.

The staff questioned by the charity Public Concern at Work included almost the entire health team, from nurses, cleaners, paramedics and therapists, to managers, clinical scientists and others.

Unison’s survey found that 90 per cent had blown the whistle when they had been concerned about patient safety.

They said they were most afraid of raising concerns about unsafe staffing levels, government targets/waiting lists, risks caused by other staff and a bullying culture.

Half those surveyed did not know if their trust had a whistleblowing policy and just a quarter thought the culture was improving.

Unison head of health Karen Jennings said: ‘The government has introduced a number of key initiatives designed to make whistleblowing work and yet it is clear that somewhere along the line this information is not getting through.

‘There is a reality gap between what the government is trying to achieve and what is happening on the ground.’