Whistle-blowing protection is extended
On 5 April 2015, following campaigning by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), whistleblowing protection was finally extended to cover student nurses and midwives on work experience, under the Protected Disclosures (Extension of Meaning of Worker) Order 2015.
The RCN said that the move was in response to “serious injustices” in the past where students have been penalised for raising concerns while on clinical placements.
This development takes place against the backdrop of the publication in February 2015, of Robert Francis’s report, the Freedom to speak up review into whistleblowing in the NHS.
The review confirms serious problems in the service, with safety issues known to staff not being addressed, placing patient safety at risk. Many witnesses to the report described “a harrowing and isolated process with reprisals including counter-allegations, disciplinary action and victimisation”.
The report recommended a series of measures to encourage staff to speak up, including changing working culture to ensure raising concerns is a normal part of working life and introducing a named “Freedom to Speak Up guardian” in all trusts.
Public services union UNISON described the report’s findings as “damning but sadly not surprising”.
In practice, strong trade unions, employment relations based on trust, direct employment and decent stable jobs are key to feeling able to speak up at work.