Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s policy is on junior doctors who whistleblow about safety concerns in the NHS.

Ben Gummer

The Department supports National Health Service staff who wish to raise concerns and is implementing a range of measures to support the development of a culture in which staff are able to raise concerns without fear of repercussion or reprisal. The Department has made clear to NHS organisations that they should have policies and procedures to support and encourage staff to raise concerns, and that those concerns should be acted upon.

Junior doctors are protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, as they are employees of the NHS trusts at which they are based.

Junior doctors along with other NHS staff will benefit from a national network of Freedom to Speak Up ‘local guardians,’ led by the National Guardian Dame Eileen Sills, who was appointed on 7 January 2016.

The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the ‘local guardians’ in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture.

In addition we are also introducing a new Guardian of safe working appointed jointly with junior doctors.