Join us 
whistleblowers at Hyde Park & hear our stories, all whistleblowers, and concerned public welcome! It’s time to Speak the Truth.  Zed Trafficker
Filed under: Whistleblowing, Whistleblowers
12/05/2017 • 5:15 pm 0
Whistleblowers Speak Up… Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, 28th May, 1:00pm. All Whistleblowers and Concerned Public welcome
23/08/2016 • 7:23 am 0
Whistleblowers being ‘blacklisted by NHS’ as staff records state they were ‘dismissed’ even after being cleared at tribunal
When Maha Yassaie began to suspect that a colleague was taking money from drug companies to prescribe a certain product and that a GP had obtained controlled drugs to attempt suicide she naturally raised the alarm. But after reporting these and other concerns about her colleagues the former chief pharmacist at Berkshire West Primary Care Trust was dismissed from her post. To her dismay Lady Yassaie was told by an internal inquiry that she was âtoo honestâ to work for the NHS.
It should therefore have been a moment of vindication when she was awarded ÂŁ375,000 compensation after the Department of Health was forced to admit to her that âthe investigation and disciplinary processes⌠were, in some respects, flawedâ.  Over the following four years, however, every one of Lady Yassaieâs attempts to find a new job met with failure, despite her experience and qualifications.
It was only when she obtained her staff record from the Department of Health that she discovered that officials had effectively blacklisted her in the eyes of prospective employers, by wrongly stating that she had been dismissed from her previous job.
Click on the link to read more
Jennie Fecitt was dismissed from her post as a senior nurse at a walk-in centre in 2010, after raising concerns about a nurse who had lied about his qualifications CREDIT: JON SUPER FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Filed under: Whistleblowing, Whistleblowers
27/03/2016 • 1:12 pm 0
NHS junior doctors who turn whistleblowers risk ‘career suicide’ reveals a doctor who did it
Dr Chris Day raised concerns about what he believed was poor care but soon discovered that his commitment was unwelcome
Junior doctors risk losing their jobs if they raise concerns about poor care, according to one young medic. Chris Day, 31, said he was removed from consultant training in 2014 after alerting bosses to dangerously low staffing levels on his intensive care unit.
Dr Day, who worked at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in South East London, said: âThey took away my training number and without that you are out. No reason was given and I had no way of appealing.â He tried to take his case to a tribunal, but last week an appeal ruled junior doctorsâ contracts are not protected under whistleblowing rules. Dr Day, now working as a locum, is seeking legal advice.
He said: âItâs saying if you are one of 54,000 junior doctors and blow the whistle, you have no protection.â
Click on the link to read more
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-junior-doctors-who-turn-7635466
Dr Chris Day who turned whistleblower found out that it wasn’t appreciated
Filed under: Whistleblowing, NHS, Whistleblowers
03/08/2015 • 8:40 am 0
Medicines watchdog calls for whistleblowers
The authority which enforces the pharmaceutical industryâs code of practice urges insiders to bring them evidence of wrongdoing following Telegraph investigation
The medicines watchdog has urged whistleblowers to come forward with concerns about payments to health officials in the wake of a Daily Telegraph investigation.
The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, which enforces the pharmaceutical industryâs code of practice, called on industry figures to pass on complaints to help it âdeal with these issues and problemsâ. The bodyâs director, Heather Simmonds, suggested the problem involved more officials than those exposed by this newspaper. She said it had already dealt with several cases where individuals present at âadvisory boardâ meetings between drugs companies and NHS officials had raised concerns with the regulator about the events.
Her appeal came after this newspaper last week exposed how senior health staff who help decide which drugs are used by GPs and hospitals are being paid to work as consultants for pharmaceutical companies who want the National Health Service to âswitchâ to medicines they produce.
Click on the link to read more
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/11776756/Medicines-watchdog-calls-for-whistleblowers.html
Many of the meetings take place in five-star hotels around the world, with some attendees telling this newspaper that they were taken to âflashyâ restaurants and paid large sums while considering whether to âswitchâ drugs.
Filed under: NHS, Whistleblowing, drugs companies, Medicines watchdog, NHS, Whistleblowers
28/07/2015 • 7:14 am 0
Quote for the day from Will Powell
There are two types of courage. First, put yourself in danger to save others & second, stand up against the establishment when there’s an abuse of power that is detrimental to the public!
Chose the former and you will be a HERO, chose the latter and you will be vilified, victimised and have your career ended. Democracy, I think not! :”(
A massive thank you to all whistle-blowers and especially NHS whistle-blowers who have been vilified and punished in an attempt to save the lives of our loved ones. Will Powell
Filed under: Whistleblowing, Quote, Whistleblowers, Will Powell
24/03/2015 • 11:15 pm 0
Bristol MP ‘determined upholder of NHS values of care free at the point of delivery’ – clinicians
Charlotte Leslie is a ‘determined upholder of the NHS values of care free at the point of delivery and need â not only for now, but for generations to come’. That’s the view of a group of NHS surgeons, professors and whistleblowers who put their careers on the line to keep the NHS free and safe both now and in the future.  They include Professor Steve Bolsin, the anaesthetist who brought the Bristol baby heart surgery death rates into the public arena, leading to vastly reduced mortality at the Bristol Royal Infirmary as well as the implementation of clinical governance reforms in the UK.
In the letter, the group say that Bristol North West MP Ms Leslie, who sits on the Health Select Committee, has been a steadfast supporter of work done to make sure NHS staff will never again have their careers put at risk because they highlighted poor practices which undermined patient safety.
Click on the link to read the letter
Charlotte Leslie with her NHS surgeon father Ian
Filed under: NHS, Whistleblowing, NHS, Whistleblowers
24/03/2015 • 10:27 am 0
Powerful and shocking but eloquently spoken by Nick Pidgeon explaining in great detail what really happens to Whistleblowers lives.
This video explains the scandal of the treatment of whistleblowers in modern Britain. Speak up about abuse, fraud or unnecessary deaths and you could be treated like a dissident in a totalitarian country. The video uses many examples to illustrate how whistleblowers are subjected to an ordeal similar to dissidents in North Korea, Zimbabwe, or China. Lies and misinformation are spread to destroy reputations. Whistleblowers
Filed under: Uncategorized, Whistleblowing, Whistleblowers
18/03/2015 • 10:20 am 0
Eileen Chubb (Compassion in Care) surrounded by Whistle-blowers from all sectors reads a statement outside Downing Street
Eileen Chubb surrounded by Whistle-blowers from all sectors reads a statement outside Downing Street. This statement along with comprehensive evidence was delivered to Number Ten Downing Street earlier. Prior to this the Whistle-blowers attended Parliament in committee room 17 and invited all MPs to attend.
Website Compassion in Care
http://www.compassionincare.com/
Petition
https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-protectors-with-edna-s-law-need-one-law-for-all-whistleblowers
Filed under: Elderly, NHS, Whistleblowing, Ten Downing Street, Whistleblowers
09/03/2015 • 9:31 am 0
Jeremy Hunt under fire for failure to publish critical NHS report
Click on the link to read more
The report by Conservative peer Stuart Rose was submitted to the Government in December and was due to be made public before the general election in May
Filed under: NHS, Uncategorized, Whistleblowing, the Rose review, Whistleblowers
05/03/2015 • 10:46 pm 2
Whistleblowers: Heroes Not Traitors
Whistleblowers should get better protection than warm words if standards across the services and businesses we all rely on are to be maintained. What we have instead is a culture of lip-service to an idea, often after a problem has been exposed, with a piecemeal approach that relies on individual organisations and companies acting to protect those who bring issues into the open.
More must be done. As Albert Einstein noted: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
Click on the link to read more
Filed under: NHS, NHS Blunders, Whistleblowing, Whistleblowers
01/03/2015 • 2:25 pm 0
‘Appalling’ treatment of NHS whistleblowers must be investigated: Staff ostracised by hospital bosses demand independent inquiry after ‘whitewash’ Francis Report
NHS whistleblowers are demanding an independent inquiry into their treatment by hospital managers after a long-awaited report was declared a ‘whitewash’. In a scathing letter to the report’s author, they accused him of failing to hold any managers to account and leaving patients at risk of serious harm. The NHS’s ‘Freedom to Speak up Review’, which was published a fortnight ago, told how whistleblowers have faced a culture of ‘fear, bullying and ostracisation’ for daring to speak out. But whistleblowers whose careers have been ruined said still no action has been taken to address the concerns about patient safety that they have been making for years. Despite hearing awful reports about failures and cover ups over patients’ deaths, the report’s author Sir Robert Francis has ‘ignored’ their stories, they said.
NHS whistleblowers, however, have since confronted him, outlining their ‘serious concerns’ that his report has failed to address any of the specific concerns made by NHS staff about the alarming treatment of patients.
The letter has been signed by three high profile whistleblowers, including Dr David Drew, a top paediatrician who was sacked after claiming he had witnessed a cover up over a child’s death. It has also been signed by Sharmila Chowdhury, a senior radiography manager who spoke out about a ÂŁ250,000 fraud at her Trust, and a third colleague who asked not to be named. Dated February 23, 2015, the letter states: ‘We have now had an opportunity to digest your report and have a number of serious concerns.
Click on the link to read the letter in full and more
 
NHS whistleblowers Dr David Drew (left) and Sharmila Chowdhury (right) have written to Sir Robert Francis demanding an independent inquiry into their treatment by hospital bosses, after they spoke out to raise concerns over patient safety
Filed under: Hospital, NHS, NHS Blunders, Whistleblowing, Freedom to speak up review, NHS, Whistleblowers
17/02/2015 • 8:37 am 0
Doubts over protection for NHS whistle-blowers
Hospitals have been ordered to appoint âguardian angelsâ to support workers who raise issues of concern. Phil Brown knows first hand how difficult it can be to raise concerns over alleged wrongdoings. In 2005, he blew the whistle on failings in care given to residents of privately-owned Bamburgh Court Care Home, in South Shields. During a process, which lasted more than five years, the 58-year-old said he received a âmixed receptionâ from his fellow workers. The new support was called for after an investigation by Sir Robert Francis. He warned that too often staff faced âbullying and being isolatedâ when they tried to speak out. He also said a new national officer should be appointed to help the guardians.
But Mr Brown, of Leafield Crescent, in South Shields, who now works at Monkwearmouth Hospital, in Sunderland, doesnât believe this move will make much difference.
Click on the link to read more
http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/crime/doubts-over-protection-for-nhs-whistle-blowers-1-7109616
A WHISTLE-BLOWER from South Tyneside says new laws to give fellow NHS workers more protection wonât work.
Filed under: Whistleblowing, guardians, Sir Robert Francis review, Whistleblowers
15/02/2015 • 8:29 am 0
Dear Sir Robert Francis, your report on NHS whistleblowers is not enough â we need action on how these brave professionals can be helped – By David Drew
NHS whistleblower Dr David Drew writes an open letter to Sir Robert Francis, whose report on whistleblowing was published last week
Click on the link to read the rest of Davis Drew’s open letter to Sir Robert Frances
Dr David Drew, an NHS consultant at Walsall Manor Hospital for over 19 years and latterly a whistleblower, is the author of ‘Little Stories of Life and Death’
Filed under: Whistleblowing, David Drew, Sir Robert Frances, speak up review, Whistleblowers
13/02/2015 • 7:09 pm 0
Jeremy Hunt â is âsorryâ really the hardest word? Fiona Bell on the Robert Frances Review
Whilst travelling through the night in preparation for the Francis review, I decided once again to tackle the issue of an apology for Families of the bereaved and NHS whistle blowers, I knew Mr Hunt was due to give his response to the Francis report, and like many others knew things were not right in the NHS for patients and whistle blowers, Â so thought perhaps it would be the right time , I think my request is quite clear, yet again I ask politely for a public apology for all . Fiona Bell
Please click on Sharmila Chowdhury (NHS Whistleblower) blog to read Fiona’s email to Jeremy Hunt and her reply
http://sharmilachowdhury.com/2015/02/13/jeremy-hunt-is-sorry-really-the-hardest-word/
Second from left Sharmila Chowdhury, third from left Fiona Bell at Westminster
Filed under: Whistleblowing, Robert Frances review, Whistleblowers
11/02/2015 • 5:10 pm 0
Whistleblower culture change urged – Download The Freedom to speak up Report
Click on the link to download the “Freedom to speak up Report. Sir Robert Francis QC”
http://freedomtospeakup.org.uk/the-report/Â Â 11th February 2015
New proposals to make NHS staff feel they can safely speak out following a damning report into the treatment of whistleblowers are being fast-tracked by the Government for legislation, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced. The report’s author, Sir Robert Francis QC, recommended 20 measures but stressed that a change in culture was more important than regulation. He said that his research – which saw him receive input from more than 19,700 NHS staff – had left him “in no doubt that there’s a serious problem in the National Health Service”.
The measures include asking every NHS organisation to identify one member of staff that other workers can go to with their concerns, who will then report directly to trust chief executives. The Government will also consult on establishing a national “whistleblowing guardian” within the Care Quality Commission (CQC) who will review the most serious cases . “Today I will be writing to every trust chair to underline the importance of a culture where frontline staff feel able to speak up about concerns without fear of repercussions,” Mr Hunt said. “The message must go out today that we are calling time on bullying, intimidation and victimisation, which has no place in our NHS.”
Click on the link to read more
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-2948640/More-open-NHS-report-out.html
Filed under: Whistleblowing, Freedom to speak up Report, NHS, Sir Robert Francis, Whistleblowers
09/02/2015 • 2:56 pm 0
Should NHS Whistle-blowers always be protected? – By Will Powell
I was very interested in a recent article published in âThe Spectatorâ on the 3rd January 2015. The article is about a cancer surgeon named Joseph Meirion Thomas. He interpreted the published Francis Report as giving healthcare professionals protection if they were to speak out about failures within the NHS regarding patient safety issues. He also took the view, rightly or wrongly, that speaking out complied with a doctorâs duty of candour. However, little did he know that speaking out to improve the NHS would result in him being suspended from his job and ordered not to air his views in public again. Sadly, this has been the case for copious NHS whistle-blowers, over the years. Some have even suffered a far worst fate and lost their homes when others have had to leave the UK to seek employment abroad when these are the very healthcare professionals who could help return our NHS to its former glory. Mr Thomas should not have been vilified by his peers but applauded for doing what the Government, Department of Health and NHS purport as the right thing to do.
Mr Thomas is also gagged which, in my view, speaks volumes for the purported integrity of the NHS and the Department of Healthâs public claims that all healthcare professionals are encouraged to speak up about patient safety issues. Contrary to the appalling treatment he has received from our Health Minister, Jeremy Hunt, and others, Mr Thomas is, in my view, a HERO and I have no doubt that the majority of the public would say the same. He is clearly a man of integrity who only wants to improve the care provided by our NHS for young and old alike.
Click on the link to read more and you can access the full articleÂ
Will Powell NHS Adviser for Mistreatment.com
Filed under: Whistleblowing, NHS, Whistleblowers, Will Powell
08/02/2015 • 8:41 am 0
The NHS whistle-blowers who spoke out for patients
My hightest admiration goes to all of the whistle-blowers who unselfishly fight for the safety of others. The below comment from The Telegraph’s Patrick Sawer says it all, Joanna
“They have helped shine a light on the darkest recesses of the NHS, raising concerns over patient safety, staff bullying and declining standards of care. But rather than being praised for their courage many whistle-blowers claim they faced bullying, threats and in some cases the loss of their jobs”
Click on the link to see our hero’s
Please note: Kim Holt does NOT currently advise the CQC – this ended in 2014Â
Filed under: NHS, Whistleblowing, hero's, NHS, Whistleblowers
21/01/2015 • 8:49 am 0
Treatment of NHS whistleblowers is ‘a stain on its reputation’
The treatment of whistleblowers by the NHS is âa stain on its reputationâ which has destroyed livelihoods and caused âinexcusable painâ to health professionals, MPs have warned. The Commons Health Select Committee said repeated failures to listen to staff who warned of risks to patients is jeopardising safety and deterring others from blowing the whistle. Its inquiry into complaints and raising concern said every NHS whistleblower who is vindicated should be given an apology, and âpractical redressâ â such as a new job, or financial compensation for the damage to their career. The damning conclusions come as a separate review of whistleblowing considers more than 17,000 submissions about the treatment meted out to those who have tried to raise the alarm on poor care.
Click on the link to read more
![sa_1852541b[1]](https://joanna678s.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/sa_1852541b1.jpg)
Dr Sarah Wollaston, the MP for Totnes, said that she believed that Downing Street had shelved the idea of open primaries over fears that they may favour âoutspokenâ candidates. Photo: Jay WilliamsÂ
Filed under: Uncategorized, Whistleblowing, NHS, Whistleblowers
03/01/2015 • 12:28 pm 0
The perils of crushing all dissent in the NHS – DAILY MAIL COMMENT – Whistleblowers
In the wake of the Francis report into lethal NHS cover-ups at Mid Staffs â where hundreds of patients died in appalling conditions unnecessarily â the Government promised to protect whistleblowers who expose incompetence and wrongdoing and end the insidious culture of gagging orders. However, the disgraceful treatment of cancer specialist Joseph Meirion Thomas â threatened with the sack for writing articles in this newspaper, and ordered not to make any further comment without the consent of his bosses â gives the lie to this commitment. Mr Thomas did not, as some doctors have alleged, behave âoutrageouslyâ or bring the health service into disrepute.
Rather, his observations that health tourism is putting tremendous strain on the NHS and that the preponderance of female doctors could become a problem, because after expensive training they tend to leave to have children, often only returning to part-time posts, are simple common sense. And that the health establishment should go into apoplexy over his comments that GPs are increasingly unavailable to their patients, forcing them to visit chaotic A&E departments instead, speaks volumes about the arrogance and contempt for free expression that characterises the upper echelons of the medical profession. For daring to speak inconvenient truths, Mr Thomas has been demonised by an NHS determined to silence all dissent.
Click on the link to read more
The treatment of cancer specialist Joseph Meirion Thomas, pictured, is absolutely disgraceful
Filed under: Uncategorized, Whistleblowers
17/10/2014 • 8:10 am 0
One important reason why healthcare whistleblowers need to be protected – by Amanda Nieweler | WhistleBlower Security
Because they have first sight into the safety and treatment of patients
There’s been much in the media spotlight lately around UK healthcare whistleblowers. The scandal-hit Stafford Hospital has had it’s fair share of spotlight over questionable treatment of patients, and many patient deaths, that could have been prevented if only those in charge actually took seriously, the concerns raised from employees.
Click on the link to read more
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/one-important-reason-why-healthcare-whis-63085/
Filed under: Uncategorized, healthcare, UK, Whistleblower Protection Policies, Whistleblowers
22/09/2014 • 9:13 am 0
NHS whistleblowing ‘problems persist’
Promoting whistleblowing was a key recommendation of the public inquiry into the Stafford Hospital scandal. A number of steps have since been taken in England, but Patients First warned that a “culture of fear” still existed. It has produced a dossier of 70 cases, highlighting problems like bullying and mismanagement of complaints. The document is being handed in as part of Patients First’s submission to an independent review of whistleblowing, which was set up by the Department of Health in England and is being led by Sir Robert Francis, who was in charge of the Stafford public inquiry.
Click on the link to read more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29280108
Filed under: Uncategorized, NHS, Whistleblowers
10/08/2014 • 9:07 pm 0
For ALL who’ve been silenced-either whistleblowers (all types) or complainants (all types) Gather Together 10th September 2014
A word from Eileen Chubb, http://www.compassionicare.com one of the BUPA 7 Whistleblowers re the Protest 10th September 2014 Parliament Square, London.
This is for ALL who have been not listened to by the Authorities… Either Professional or Patient or Relative Whistleblowers… OR Whistleblowers and Complainants from other sectors…Social Services, Aviation, Navigation, Railways, Retail, Bank, Police etc. etc.
WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING?
Please gather on 10th September 2014 at 12 pm on Parliament Sq, London. Banners and whistles will be provided to all those who have not brought their own.
At 2pm all the flags and banners will be lowered in remembrance of all victims of silence. People who have lost someone will hold up their photos and names and instead of two minutes silence, there will be two minutes breaking the silence. We want thousands of whistles to be blown.To remember that whistle-blowers could have saved them all.
For more details on Edna s Law see http://www.compassionincare.com
Filed under: Uncategorized, Medical Negligence, NHS, Protest, Victims, Whistleblowers
10/08/2014 • 11:40 am 0
Watch Sir Robert Francis QC being interviewed by Eamonn Holmes on SKY explaining about the launch of the Independent review on whistleblowing.
Filed under: Uncategorized, NHS, Sir Robert Francis, Sky News, Whistleblowers
07/08/2014 • 7:44 am 0
NHS whistleblowers urged to share experiences of poor patient care
Sir Robert Francis QC, who led two major inquiries into failures at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, has launched a call for evidence for his review of whistleblowing in the health service
NHS staff are being urged to share their experiences of blowing the whistle on incidents of poor patient care.
Sir Robert Francis QC, who led two major inquiries into failures at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, has launched a call for evidence for his review of whistleblowing in the health service.
The aim of his independent review, commissioned by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt earlier this year, is to recommend how best staff can be supported to raise concerns about poor patient care.
Click on the link to read more
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11017755/NHS-whistleblowers-urged-to-share-experiences-of-poor-patient-care.html
Filed under: Uncategorized, NHS, Sir Robert Francis, Whistleblowers
02/08/2014 • 9:39 am 0
Whistleblower treatment is often ‘shocking’, say MPs
The treatment of employees in public services who have raised concerns about wrongdoing has often been “shocking”, a group of MPs has said.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee said whistleblowers had often been subjected to bullying and harassment.
Its report called for whistleblowers to be offered legal and counselling help and for “swift sanctions” to be imposed on staff who victimised them.
The government said it was acting to ensure people felt free to speak out.
The report highlighted the “important” role whistleblowers had played in uncovering details about the Hillsborough disaster and the Mid Staffordshire NHS trust scandal.
The committee said whistleblowing was a “crucial source of intelligence to help government identify wrongdoing”.
Click on the link to read more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28596233
Filed under: Uncategorized, Whistleblowers
