NHS whistleblower policies ‘still discourage transparency’

Official policies towards whistleblowers in the NHS do not meet independent guidelines on confidentiality or culpability, the British Medical Association (BMA) has stated.

A special report in the British Medical Journal said laws to protect whistleblowers in the health service were not filtering through to foundation trusts themselves.

Of the 118 whistleblowing policy documents obtained by the BMJ, 22 did not provide examples of what concerns should be raised.

Four neglected to mention altogether the option of raising concerns to an independent authority, such as Public Concern at Work.

Meanwhile, a third of the documents specified a whistleblower should contact senior management before involving a third party, while a fifth do not promise to preserve the confidentiality of the individual involved.

Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the BMA consultants’ committee, stated that it is “very concerned” about doctors who encounter difficulty with whistleblowing policies “while following their professional duty”.

Peter Gooderham, law lecturer at the University of Manchester, added: “It should be made clear that the finger won’t be pointed at [whistleblowers] if they take steps to raise a genuine concern.”