NHS whistleblowers still face consequences

Criticism of NHS managers over the treatment of whistleblowers has been reignited by Donna Ockenden’s damning review of maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.

Her findings come seven years after the “Freedom to speak up?” report from Sir Robert Francis QC, which found that NHS staff feared repercussions if they blew the whistle on poor practice. He recommended reforms to change the culture and support whistleblowers.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 makes it unlawful to subject workers to negative treatment or dismiss them because they have raised a whistleblowing concern, known as a “protected disclosure”. But critics say little has changed since the Francis review.

Those seeking to vindicate their rights before an employment tribunal will often be “priced out of justice” by well-resourced NHS trust lawyers who at public expense “deploy a menu of tactics” to defend cases. This includes triggering satellite litigation to strike out claims as a means to drain resources and threatening six-figure costs applications.

“Trusts rely on law firms to use litigation as a form of attrition to erode the confidence, finances and mental health of the whistleblower,” adds Georgina Halford-Hall, the director of WhistleblowersUK

Read More NHS whistleblowers still face consequences | Law | The Times