23.04.13
RCN shows thousands of nurses’ concerns unheard
A “culture of fear and intimidation” is preventing nurses from reporting concerns around staffing levels and patient safety, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned.
A poll of 8,262 nurses carried out by ICM showed that 24% of those who had raised concerns had been discouraged or warned off raising concerns about patient care.
46% had raised concerns about patient safety in the past six months, despite the NHS’s resolve to improve provision for whistleblowing following the Francis report earlier this year. 45% said their employer took no action in response to their concerns. Of all those surveyed, 32% did not know if their organisation had a whistleblowing policy.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt banned gagging clauses in March, to better protect whistleblowers to speak out on issues of safety.
Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said: “We have been clear that the era of NHS staff not being able to raise their real worries about patient care must come to an end. We want all staff working within the NHS to feel able to speak up and raise concerns, and every NHS organisation to take concerns seriously and act on them.
“That is why we have funded a national helpline for whistle-blowers, strengthened the NHS constitution and provided stronger protections for whistle-blowers in NHS staff contracts. We are also giving NHS organisations a new duty to be open if things go wrong, to help build a far more open NHS culture.”
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive & general secretary of the RCN, speaking at the organisation’s annual Congress said: “These responses illustrate that despite the recent attention which has been drawn to the importance of whistle blowing, many nurses are still experiencing a culture of fear and intimidation if they try to speak out. This is putting patient safety at risk.
“One of the key lessons from the Francis report was that frontline staff must feel confident that they can raise concerns about patient safety without fear of reprisals.
“Nursing staff want to provide excellent care, but sometimes the systems they work in do not allow this. Staff know what is safe for their patients and what is not. However, they cannot raise concerns if they feel unsure about what their employer’s policy is or what the repercussions will be.
“In particular, nurses have told us about occasions when they have been bullied, ostracised or belittled when they have tried to raise concerns on behalf of their patients. “The stakes are simply too high for this to be allowed to continue. Trusts which don’t encourage an open culture from the very top will only continue to make mistakes, sometimes with devastating consequences.”
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