December 19, 2011
A large number of hospital trusts in the UK are not taking action when issues such as staffing levels and patient safety are raised by whistleblowing employees, and many concerns are being swept under the carpet, research by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has found.
A survey of over 3,000 members of the RCN found that 84% would be concerned about victimisation, personal reprisals or a negative effect on their career if they were to blow the whistle on their employers.
In addition, 34% of nurses (up from 21% in 2009) had been told not to report concerns at their workplace and only a third felt confident that their employer would rightly protect them if they shared their concerns.
“It is extremely worrying that nurses are being explicitly told not to raise concerns – after all we have learnt about the consequences when problems are not tackled,” said Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the RCN.
Worryingly, the survey does suggest that awareness of the laws around whistleblowing has improved. In total, 73% of staff are aware that their trust has a whistleblowing policy, in contrast with 2009 when 45% did not know either way.
But the problem should not just be confined to nursing. Up and down the UK, thousands of workers are still ignorant to the protections whistleblowing legislation offers them. If you have a query and want to know what your rights are as a whistleblower, contact our experts today.
