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The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the findings of an independent review into how it dealt with concerns raised in relation to the regulation of Whorlton Hall.

Bosses at the (CQC) have been criticised in an independent report by David Noble into why it buried a critical report into Whorlton Hall hospital, a privately-run hospital in County Durham, in 2015. The report said the care watchdog missed multiple opportunities to identify abuse of patients and did not act on the concerns of its own members.

Protect Head of Policy, Andrew Pepper-Parsons said, “The CQC has acknowledged it was wrong not to make public this report in 2015. Yet, it’s a positive the CQC have now been transparent in airing failings in this way – it means that both the CQC and other organisations can learn from the experience.

“The findings into how the CQC handled the concerns raised by former CQC inspector Barry Stanley-Wilkinson is a stark reminder of the importance of feedback. What happens in practice needs to match the guarantees written in the whistleblowing or Speak Up policies. Though the CQC had a Speak Up policy that looked effective on paper, in practice it was found wanting, with no mechanisms to review how the policy operated in practice. The recommendations to improve the Speak Up process were made by the investigator, but these changes were not implemented.”

The report also found the whistleblower suffered a lot of stress and strain, in fact they had periods of sickness and eventually resigned stating they felt let down by the CQC.  Better feedback could have helped to elevate the stress.

Andrew added, “Having a written policy that meets best practice is straightforward.  But it is a common failing to deal with whistleblowing in the correct operational way”

The report again underlines the need to reform the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) to place a legal duty on employers to not just have a whistleblowing policy but to ensure it works effectively in practice. Our draft Whistleblowing Bill calls on employers follows existing best practice for internal whistleblowing arrangements and would require organisations to have the following things in place:

•   Employer should establish channels where whsitleblowers can raise concerns that also ensures their confidentiality
•   Designation of a senior individual who has responsibility for the effectiveness of reporting channels
•   Diligent follow up to the disclosures by the designated person or department in the whistleblowing or Speak Up policy
•   A reasonable timeframe, not exceeding three months following the disclosure, to provide feedback to the whistleblower

A story in today’s Guardian has highlighted how bosses at West Suffolk NHS Hospital demanded fingerprint samples in a bid to identify a whistleblower.

The report says that the hospital – which happens to be Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s local hospital –  used ‘bullying and intimidatory’ tactics towards doctors to seek out the identity of a whistleblower who revealed details of a botched operation to a patient’s widower.

Doctors were asked for fingerprints and handwriting and told non-compliance suggested guilt.

Protect Acting Chief Executive, Liz Gardiner said, “The scandal at West Suffolk hospital demonstrates significant failings in the Trust’s ability to handle whistleblowing concerns. Rather than focusing on the actual concern the whistleblower raised, the Trust has engaged in a witch-hunt to expose the whistleblower. Such actions will undermine staff trust and confidence in West Suffolk Hospital’s speak up arrangements. It is unlawful to subject a whistleblower to any detriment – and, if the reports are correct, senior managers’ actions may well have breached the employment rights of those who were brave enough to speak up.

She added, “Managers who have been found to have sanctioned such actions should face disciplinary action. We urge the Trust Board to urgently review its speak up arrangements and consider training all senior management in appropriate whistleblowing handling. It is imperative all staff in the NHS can speak up about wrongdoing without the fear of their confidentiality being breached.”

This week, a report by the National Guardians Office into Speaking up in the NHS in England highlighted that more than 1 in 10 whistleblowing cases were reported anonymously.

The National Guardian’s Office has published a report analysis of the data from Freedom to Speak Up Guardians to give a picture of what speaking up looks like in NHS trusts.

The report,  Speaking up in the NHS in England, reveals over the last year cases of speaking up to guardians have risen by 73 per cent, compared to 2017/18. However, the report also reveals that while low, the number of workers who indicated they were suffering detriment as a result of speaking up has remained static at five per cent. The National Guardian has said she’s disappointed in the “general and vague” responses on the action trusts are taken when detriment is reported.

Protect Acting Chief Executive, Liz Gardiner, said, “While there is much to celebrate in this report, the percentage of those reporting that they fear detriment has not changed. The NHS is not alone is speaking the right words but taking little action on detriment. We know from our advice line how prevalent victimisation of whistleblowers is – too many who raise concerns are bullied, sidelined or even forced out of their jobs.

“We’re also aware – from our training of employers across all sectors – that few organisations will discipline those responsible for treating whistleblowers badly. Staff receive a poor message about whistleblowing if they see their colleagues suffering and a reluctance by the employer to stop the bullying or victimisation.”

Of the callers to Protect’s advice line between January – December 2019, a total of 53.8% of health sector workers reported some form of negative treatment as a result of raising their concerns. The data showed of these calls 41.5% of cases were in relation to patient safety, and 20.4% over working practices.

Liz Gardiner said “Protect is campaigning to change the law to improve protections for whistleblowers, with a positive duty on employers to protect those who speak up from harm as well as fines and sanctions for employers who allow detriment to happen.  In the meantime, we’re pleased to see the National Guardian’s plans to work with Freedom to Speak Up Guardians and the Care Quality Commission to tackle the problem.”

We are looking for a new Chief Executive Office to lead Protect in supporting whistleblowers and promote whistleblowing.

Our new CEO will ensure we encourage a culture of ‘Speak Up, Stop Harm’, that we provide the best possible support to innocent people at risk. Building on our solid reputation, the CEO will act as ambassador for Protect, building impactful relationships with senior stakeholders and the media to promote our proactive approach to preventing harm. They will lobby government at national and international levels for improvements in legislation affecting public interest disclosures. They will develop new partnerships across all sectors to support employers to make UK workplaces safe. The CEO will ensure our funding continues to grow and will also inspire and support our staff team to develop their best potential.

We are looking for an inspiring leader with experience at CEO or Director level, demonstrably capable of influencing a variety of stakeholders, including the media, to challenge perceptions and secure cultural change. You will have a proven ability to build strong business development partnerships to allow us to maximise our reach, and a track record of growing and developing an organisation. You will possess strong leadership skills and be adept at guiding, coaching and supporting others at all levels to realise their potential. Crucially you will be passionate about our work and the impact we have on preventing harm. For more info visit our vacancies page

A review calling on a total overhaul of the UK audit profession, following a series of corporate scandals has been welcomed by Protect.

Former London Stock Exchange Chairman, Sir Donald Brydon was tasked with reviewing the auditing sector, and his report,  ‘Assess, Assure and Inform, Improving Audit Quality and Effectiveness, states: ‘Audit is not broken but it has lost its way and all the actors in the audit process bear some measure of responsibility.’

The report calls fo a redefinition of audit, separating audit work from accountancy and reinforcing its role as a public interest function

Protect Acting Chief Executive, Liz Gardiner said: “We welcome the Brydon report’s proposals, and in particular the recognition that whistleblowing protections do not go far enough. As we have seen with recent scandals from Carillion to Patisserie Valerie, all too often wrongdoing can go undetected. There needs to be far greater transparency in auditing, and better protections for those who speak up.

“Going to an auditor may be an obvious choice for a whistleblower if the concerns are financial, but auditors are not generally prescribed persons. We support Sir Donald’s call for changes to the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) to widen the categories of concern so that they include financial misrepresentation, and so that a broader list of people – including shareholders and suppliers – are protected if they raise concerns about financial wrongdoing.”

Protect is campaigning to update PIDA and has drafted a Whistleblowing Bill which has greater scope and better protections than the current law.