When prevention
is better than cure
The concept of heath and safety in the
workplace is sometimes the butt of jokes,
but the reality is no laughing matter.
Becoming aware that there are inadequate
or inappropriate systems in place, or that a
colleague is performing dangerously below
par, can raise mixed feelings and a nagging
sense of responsibility – should I bring this
to someone’s attention? What if someone
gets the sack as a result? What if it’s me
that gets the sack? Can I be confident that
my involvement will be kept confidential?
Should I just look away and mind my own
business? Do I have a legal and/or moral
duty to act? How would I feel if there is a
terrible accident or injury that I might have
helped to prevent?
Depending on the type of work
environment, the risks and repercussions
can be relatively minor and easily rectified;
perhaps a quiet word with the person
concerned, a supervisor or the HR
department will do the trick. However,
when your work involves looking after
other people, the stakes can be very high
indeed, up to and including a matter of
life and death. The airline industry has
grasped the nettle and works hard to
encourage an atmosphere of open, no-
fault reporting amongst its staff, developing
an ethos where owning up to mistakes,
rather than covering them up, leads to
improved systems, performance and
ultimately safer conditions for public and
employees alike.
For medical staff and other care providers
who have the health and wellbeing of
vulnerable people in their hands day i n, day
out, the consequences of poor practice
can be life-altering, even fatal, for patients
and equally devastating for the employees
involved. In his speech to the Global Safety
Patient Summit on 3 March
2016 entitled “From a blame culture to a
learning culture” Jeremy Hunt MP openly
acknowledged the sobering fact that
“Every year an estimated 1 million patients
die in hospitals across the world because
of avoidable clinical mistakes.” www.gov.
uk/government/speeches/from-a-blame-
culture-to-a-learning-culture
So how can we move from a blame
culture to a learning culture? The UK
Government’s website offers the following
advice for raising serious concerns at
work: www.gov.uk/whistleblowing/what-
is-a-whistleblower
• You’re a whistleblower if you’re a
worker and you report certain types
of wrongdoing. This will usually be
something you’ve seen at work – though
not always.
• The wrongdoing you disclose must be
in the public interest. This means it must
affect others, eg the general public.
• As a whistleblower you’re protected by
law – you shouldn’t be treated unfairly
or lose your job because you ‘blow the
whistle’. (You are protected by law if
you’re a worker, for example an NHS
employee, trainee such as a student
nurse or agency worker.)
• You can raise your concern at any time
about an incident that happened in the
past, is happening now, or you believe
will happen in the near future.
• A confidentiality clause or ‘gagging
clause’ in a settlement agreement isn’t
valid if you’re a whistleblower.
However the decision to blow the whistle
on perceived malpractice is not one to be
taken lightly. Challenging the status quo
can have unforeseen, long-lasting and
potentially damaging consequences for the
person who points the finger. The
following organisations are just some of
those offering guidance and support if this
is something you are seriously considering:
Whistleblowers UK: www.wbuk.org
Compassion in Care: www.
compassionincare.com/
National Whistleblowing Advocacy Service:
www.whistleblower.co.uk
The NHS Employers website www.
nhsemployers.org/ provides details on
raising concerns at work, including the
Whistleblowing Helpline: 08000 724 725
8am – 6pm Monday to Friday:
“The national Whistleblowing Helpline
provides free, independent and confidential
advice to all staff and contracted workers
within health and social care. While the
helpline cannot investigate concerns
on behalf of individuals, it can provide
invaluable advice on whether your concern
is indeed whistleblowing and to talk you
through the process to ensure it is followed
correctly. They are also able to advise on
how you can escalate the concern with
a relevant prescribed body if needed. To
speak to a helpline advisor An answer
machine and ring-back service is available
for calls outside of these times.”
So prevention must surely be better than
cure, however when things do go wrong
and a claim for medical negligence is
made, a spotlight can be shone in dark
corners where significant problems need
to be addressed. It seems that lawyers
who specialise in clinical negligence
and personal injury claims are often
portrayed in the media as “the bad
guys”. We’ve all heard the expressions
“ambulance chasers”, “bleeding the NHS
dry”, accompanied by accusations of
helping the greedy minority to benefit at
the expense of the tax-paying majority.
When news breaks of a (rare) multi-million
pound settlement, it is usually closely
followed by comments that “you could
build 3 new hospitals for that”. However
the painstaking work of medico-legal
specialists and the independent experts
they instruct, maintains essential checks
and balances, can help to identify how
and why things go wrong and increase
the chances that changes will be made to
minimise similar failings in future.
If you have a query about whistleblowing
at work please contact Martin Williams or
Samantha Dickinson on 01273 223252.
If you are thinking about making a claim in
relation to negligence that you or a family
member have suffered and you would like
further advice, please contact a member
of the Medical Negligence Team at Mayo
Wynne Baxter on 0800 84 94 101.
By Carole Hewit
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