Whistleblowers face backlash

A new survey of whistleblowing by doctors in Scotland has found that some of those speaking up have been bullied, blacklisted, marginalised or had their mental state questioned.

Over 400 BMA Scotland doctors’ union members responded to an online survey carried out by its chair Dr Iain Kennedy.

Almost all of those in the survey (94%) believe whistleblowing enhances patient safety and 90% believe it addresses wrongdoing. But most (87%) reported challenges to speaking up about concerns in the NHS and less than one in five (17%) were satisfied with their organisation’s response to whistleblowing.

Half of the doctors (51%) had experience of whistleblowing, with patient safety the most common reason for raising concerns.

More than half reported repercussions of bullying by managers (56%), and almost one in four (39%) said their mental state had been questioned. More than a third (36%) reported being marginalised and the same proportion reported negative peer pressure.

Around half (51%) feared disciplinary action and approaching half (47%) were worried that raising concerns would damage their careers or result in referral to the GMC body that regulates doctors in the UK (44%).

The survey also found that older white doctors were more likely to be whistleblowers, with one ethnic minority doctor saying that raising concerns is equal to “digging the grave”.