XMAS FOI On NHS Whistleblowing

The request was successful.

Dear Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust,

I have done some research and found there are a number of pieces of guidance on how best to ‘whistleblow ‘in the NHS.
Examples include:
1) Each trust is expected to have a’ whistleblowing’ policy modelled on 2003 Department of Health Guidance.
2)Other ‘whistleblowing’ guidance that is issued to general practitioners by NHS employers after the Shipman Inquiry and a Code of Practice published in 2008 by the British Standards and Public Concern at Work .
3 )A Doctor’s duty to report concerns is set out in the General Medical Council’s Good Medical Practice published in 2006 supported by supplementary guidance Raising Concerns About Patient Safety.
‘43. You must protect patients from risk of harm posed by another colleague’s conduct,
performance or health. The safety of patients must come first at all times. If you have
concerns that a colleague may not be fit to practise, you must take appropriate steps
without delay, so that the concerns are investigated and patients protected where
necessary. This means you must give an honest explanation of your concerns to an
appropriate person from your employing or contracting body, and follow their
procedures.
44. If there are no appropriate local systems, or local systems do not resolve the problem,
and you are still concerned about the safety of patients, you should inform the relevant
regulatory body. If you are not sure what to do, discuss your concerns with an impartial
colleague or contact your defence body, a professional organisation, or the GMC for
advice.
45. If you have management responsibilities you should make sure that systems are in place
through which colleagues can raise concerns about risks to patients, and you must
follow the guidance in Management for doctors.
So raising concerns is not just a matter of personal conscience – in some circumstances it is a
professional obligation.’

4) Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 ‘whistleblowers’ get legal protection against victimisation or dismissal for exposing malpractice at work. This piece of legislation followed a succession of cases where whistleblowers had been ignored , including the problems at Bristol Royal Infirmary ,where 29 babies and children died after heart surgery .
5) Until 1 April 2010 it was optional for NHS trusts to report serious untoward incidents to the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA).Since then there has been a duty to report introduced by the Care Quality Commission Registration Regulations 2009 ...a more demanding duty :
“This is a duty which is accomapied by sanctions in the criminal law for failure to report –and th ephraes in the regulations is ‘without delay’ –deaths which cannot be explained by the normal course of the illness the patient is suffering from.
And then equally significantly there’s a further duty ,again, to report events which appear –before anybody which has actually been injured or died from events in hospital –systems need to be in place which would expose patients to that sort of risk.’
THE QUESTIONS RAISED BY THIS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST ARE :
1) Is there any case law or any other pieces of legislation or other pieces of NHS or professional guidance which protect any possible ‘whistleblower.’?
2) Does the duty to inform of ‘wrongdoing’ extend to other staff: legal advisors,managers and social workers ,nurses and care assistants as well as doctors as well?Does it include a duty to inform of potential ‘wrongdoing’ that has come to light in other trusts and the like?
3) What punishment is meted out to those who knew of alleged wrongdoing and remained silent?
4) How many staff members have ‘whistleblown’ in your organisation?
Which department were they in?
How many are still employed there?
What were the outcomes of the attempt to ‘whistleblow’?

5) Despite pieces of legislation and professional guidance such as these nearly 90% of severance packages between NHS Trusts and departing doctors contain confidentiality clauses.The charity Public Concern at Work states that the law protects whistleblowers even if they have signed confidentiality arrangements.
a) How many confidentiality arrangements have been reached with former staff members?
b) What was the value of each agreement?
c) Does the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act make it illegal for NHS Trusts and other public bodies to include confidentiality clauses preventing the disclosure of information that is in the public interest? If not do they still have a duty to inform their professional body or indeed anyone else? Does this extend to any ‘act or omission’ (a term used in the Human Rights Act ) on the part of your organisation?
Yours sincerely
Paul Gaffney LLB BA
Ipswich
Suffolk

Yours faithfully,

Paul GaffneyLLB BA

Freedom Of Information Requests, Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Thank for your FOI request which we received yesterday. We will respond within 20 working days
Regards
Sarah

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Gaffney [mailto:[FOI #54495 email]]
Sent: 12 December 2010 17:41
To: Freedom Of Information Requests
Subject: Freedom of Information request - XMAS FOI On NHS Whistleblowing

Dear Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust,

I have done some research and found there are a number of pieces of
guidance on how best to ‘whistleblow ‘in the NHS.
Examples include:
1) Each trust is expected to have a’ whistleblowing’ policy
modelled on 2003 Department of Health Guidance.
2)Other ‘whistleblowing’ guidance that is issued to general
practitioners by NHS employers after the Shipman Inquiry and a Code
of Practice published in 2008 by the British Standards and Public
Concern at Work .
3 )A Doctor’s duty to report concerns is set out in the General
Medical Council’s Good Medical Practice published in 2006 supported
by supplementary guidance Raising Concerns About Patient Safety.
‘43. You must protect patients from risk of harm posed by another
colleague’s conduct,
performance or health. The safety of patients must come first at
all times. If you have
concerns that a colleague may not be fit to practise, you must take
appropriate steps
without delay, so that the concerns are investigated and patients
protected where
necessary. This means you must give an honest explanation of your
concerns to an
appropriate person from your employing or contracting body, and
follow their
procedures.
44. If there are no appropriate local systems, or local systems do
not resolve the problem,
and you are still concerned about the safety of patients, you
should inform the relevant
regulatory body. If you are not sure what to do, discuss your
concerns with an impartial
colleague or contact your defence body, a professional
organisation, or the GMC for
advice.
45. If you have management responsibilities you should make sure
that systems are in place
through which colleagues can raise concerns about risks to
patients, and you must
follow the guidance in Management for doctors.
So raising concerns is not just a matter of personal conscience –
in some circumstances it is a
professional obligation.’

4) Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 ‘whistleblowers’
get legal protection against victimisation or dismissal for
exposing malpractice at work. This piece of legislation followed a
succession of cases where whistleblowers had been ignored ,
including the problems at Bristol Royal Infirmary ,where 29 babies
and children died after heart surgery .
5) Until 1 April 2010 it was optional for NHS trusts to report
serious untoward incidents to the National Patient Safety Agency
(NPSA).Since then there has been a duty to report introduced by the
Care Quality Commission Registration Regulations 2009 ...a more
demanding duty :
“This is a duty which is accomapied by sanctions in the criminal
law for failure to report –and th ephraes in the regulations is
‘without delay’ –deaths which cannot be explained by the normal
course of the illness the patient is suffering from.
And then equally significantly there’s a further duty ,again, to
report events which appear –before anybody which has actually been
injured or died from events in hospital –systems need to be in
place which would expose patients to that sort of risk.’
THE QUESTIONS RAISED BY THIS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST ARE
:
1) Is there any case law or any other pieces of legislation or
other pieces of NHS or professional guidance which protect any
possible ‘whistleblower.’?
2) Does the duty to inform of ‘wrongdoing’ extend to other staff:
legal advisors,managers and social workers ,nurses and care
assistants as well as doctors as well?Does it include a duty to
inform of potential ‘wrongdoing’ that has come to light in other
trusts and the like?
3) What punishment is meted out to those who knew of alleged
wrongdoing and remained silent?
4) How many staff members have ‘whistleblown’ in your organisation?
Which department were they in?
How many are still employed there?
What were the outcomes of the attempt to ‘whistleblow’?

5) Despite pieces of legislation and professional guidance such as
these nearly 90% of severance packages between NHS Trusts and
departing doctors contain confidentiality clauses.The charity
Public Concern at Work states that the law protects whistleblowers
even if they have signed confidentiality arrangements.
a) How many confidentiality arrangements have been reached with
former staff members?
b) What was the value of each agreement?
c) Does the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act make it illegal for
NHS Trusts and other public bodies to include confidentiality
clauses preventing the disclosure of information that is in the
public interest? If not do they still have a duty to inform their
professional body or indeed anyone else? Does this extend to any
‘act or omission’ (a term used in the Human Rights Act ) on the
part of your organisation?
Yours sincerely
Paul Gaffney LLB BA
Ipswich
Suffolk

Yours faithfully,

Paul GaffneyLLB BA

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offic...

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #54495 email]

Is [Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust request email] the wrong address for Freedom
of Information requests to Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust? If
so please contact us using this form:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/contact

If you find WhatDoTheyKnow useful as an FOI officer, please ask
your web manager to suggest us on your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

IMPORTANT: This message and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the individual(s) addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error, disclosing, copying, distributing or retaining this message or any part of it is strictly prohibited; please contact Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust immediately on +44 (0) 1772 695316 with details of the sender and addressee and delete the e-mail from your system. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust.
Security Warning: The Trust accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted with this e-mail, so although virus checked before transmission, the recipient should also check for the presence of viruses. Please note that this email has been created in the knowledge that Internet email is not a 100% secure communications medium. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when emailing us.
The information contained in this email may be subject to public disclosure under the NHS Code of Openness or the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless the information is legally exempt from disclosure, the confidentiality of this email AND YOUR REPLY cannot be guaranteed.

hide quoted sections

Freedom Of Information Requests, Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Paul

Please see our answers below in red.

Many thanks

Sarah

1) Is there any case law or any other pieces of legislation or other
pieces of NHS or professional guidance which protect any possible
‘whistleblower.’? Yes, for example the Public Interest Disclosure Act.

2) Does the duty to inform of ‘wrongdoing’ extend to other staff:
legal advisors, managers and social workers ,nurses and care assistants as
well as doctors as well? Does it include a duty to inform of potential
‘wrongdoing’ that has come to light in other trusts and the like? Yes,
it applies to all employees of the Trust. In addition under Safeguarding
there is a duty to inform the LADO and Adult equivalent. Also, where
staff are required to be registered eg NMC, GSCC,BMA it may be required to
refer to the appropriate registration authority.

3) What punishment is meted out to those who knew of alleged wrongdoing
and remained silent? This would be investigated under the Trust’s
disciplinary procedure and action taken as appropriate.

4)

a) How many staff members have ‘whistleblown’ in your organisation?
Two in the previous 2 years

b) Which department were they in? Clinical Services

c) How many are still employed there? Both are still employed

d) What were the outcomes of the attempt to ‘whistleblow’? Appropriate
action was taken

5) Despite pieces of legislation and professional guidance such as these
nearly 90% of severance packages between NHS Trusts and departing doctors
contain confidentiality clauses. The charity Public Concern at Work states
that the law protects whistleblowers even if they have signed
confidentiality arrangements.

a) How many confidentiality arrangements have been reached with former
staff members? None

b) What was the value of each agreement? Not applicable.

c) Does the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act make it illegal for NHS
Trusts and other public bodies to include confidentiality clauses
preventing the disclosure of information that is in the public interest?
If not do they still have a duty to inform their professional
body or indeed anyone else? Does this extend to any ‘act or omission’
(a term used in the Human Rights Act ) on the part of your organisation?
Confidentiality clauses do not preclude an employee or ex-employee
disclosing information under Whistle blowing or Public Interest disclosure
legislation

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Gaffney [mailto:[FOI #54495 email]]
Sent: 12 December 2010 17:41
To: Freedom Of Information Requests
Subject: Freedom of Information request - XMAS FOI On NHS Whistleblowing

Dear Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust,

I have done some research and found there are a number of pieces of

guidance on how best to ‘whistleblow ‘in the NHS.

Examples include:

1) Each trust is expected to have a’ whistleblowing’ policy

modelled on 2003 Department of Health Guidance.

2)Other ‘whistleblowing’ guidance that is issued to general

practitioners by NHS employers after the Shipman Inquiry and a Code

of Practice published in 2008 by the British Standards and Public

Concern at Work .

3 )A Doctor’s duty to report concerns is set out in the General

Medical Council’s Good Medical Practice published in 2006 supported

by supplementary guidance Raising Concerns About Patient Safety.

‘43. You must protect patients from risk of harm posed by another

colleague’s conduct,

performance or health. The safety of patients must come first at

all times. If you have

concerns that a colleague may not be fit to practise, you must take

appropriate steps

without delay, so that the concerns are investigated and patients

protected where

necessary. This means you must give an honest explanation of your

concerns to an

appropriate person from your employing or contracting body, and

follow their

procedures.

44. If there are no appropriate local systems, or local systems do

not resolve the problem,

and you are still concerned about the safety of patients, you

should inform the relevant

regulatory body. If you are not sure what to do, discuss your

concerns with an impartial

colleague or contact your defence body, a professional

organisation, or the GMC for

advice.

45. If you have management responsibilities you should make sure

that systems are in place

through which colleagues can raise concerns about risks to

patients, and you must

follow the guidance in Management for doctors.

So raising concerns is not just a matter of personal conscience –

in some circumstances it is a

professional obligation.’

4) Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 ‘whistleblowers’

get legal protection against victimisation or dismissal for

exposing malpractice at work. This piece of legislation followed a

succession of cases where whistleblowers had been ignored ,

including the problems at Bristol Royal Infirmary ,where 29 babies

and children died after heart surgery .

5) Until 1 April 2010 it was optional for NHS trusts to report

serious untoward incidents to the National Patient Safety Agency

(NPSA).Since then there has been a duty to report introduced by the

Care Quality Commission Registration Regulations 2009 ...a more

demanding duty :

“This is a duty which is accomapied by sanctions in the criminal

law for failure to report –and th ephraes in the regulations is

‘without delay’ –deaths which cannot be explained by the normal

course of the illness the patient is suffering from.

And then equally significantly there’s a further duty ,again, to

report events which appear –before anybody which has actually been

injured or died from events in hospital –systems need to be in

place which would expose patients to that sort of risk.’

THE QUESTIONS RAISED BY THIS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST ARE

:

1) Is there any case law or any other pieces of legislation or

other pieces of NHS or professional guidance which protect any

possible ‘whistleblower.’?

2) Does the duty to inform of ‘wrongdoing’ extend to other staff:

legal advisors,managers and social workers ,nurses and care

assistants as well as doctors as well?Does it include a duty to

inform of potential ‘wrongdoing’ that has come to light in other

trusts and the like?

3) What punishment is meted out to those who knew of alleged

wrongdoing and remained silent?

4) How many staff members have ‘whistleblown’ in your
organisation?

Which department were they in?

How many are still employed there?

What were the outcomes of the attempt to ‘whistleblow’?

5) Despite pieces of legislation and professional guidance such as

these nearly 90% of severance packages between NHS Trusts and

departing doctors contain confidentiality clauses.The charity

Public Concern at Work states that the law protects whistleblowers

even if they have signed confidentiality arrangements.

a) How many confidentiality arrangements have been reached with

former staff members?

b) What was the value of each agreement?

c) Does the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act make it illegal for

NHS Trusts and other public bodies to include confidentiality

clauses preventing the disclosure of information that is in the

public interest? If not do they still have a duty to inform their

professional body or indeed anyone else? Does this extend to any

‘act or omission’ (a term used in the Human Rights Act ) on the

part of your organisation?

Yours sincerely

Paul Gaffney LLB BA

Ipswich

Suffolk

Yours faithfully,

Paul GaffneyLLB BA

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be

published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[1]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offic...

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[2][FOI #54495 email]

Is [3][Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust request email] the wrong address for Freedom

of Information requests to Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust? If

so please contact us using this form:

[4]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/contact

If you find WhatDoTheyKnow useful as an FOI officer, please ask

your web manager to suggest us on your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

IMPORTANT: This message and any files transmitted with it are confidential
and intended solely for the individual(s) addressed. If you have received
this e-mail in error, disclosing, copying, distributing or retaining this
message or any part of it is strictly prohibited; please contact
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust immediately on +44 (0) 1772 695316
with details of the sender and addressee and delete the e-mail from your
system. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author
and do not necessarily represent those of Lancashire Care NHS Foundation
Trust.
Security Warning: The Trust accepts no liability for any damage caused by
any virus transmitted with this e-mail, so although virus checked before
transmission, the recipient should also check for the presence of
viruses. Please note that this email has been created in the knowledge
that Internet email is not a 100% secure communications medium. We advise
that you understand and observe this lack of security when emailing us.
The information contained in this email may be subject to public
disclosure under the NHS Code of Openness or the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. Unless the information is legally exempt from disclosure, the
confidentiality of this email AND YOUR REPLY cannot be guaranteed.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offic...
2. mailto:[FOI #54495 email]
3. mailto:[Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust request email]
4. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/contact

hide quoted sections