End NHS 'Blacklist' Of Whistleblowers - MP

---

Angie Bray reveals a constituent has been unable to get work

Local MP Angie Bray has said it's time to put an end to what she described as a "blacklist" that stops hospital whistleblowers from getting re-employment within the NHS.

She told the Health Minister Jeremy Hunt that a hospital ‘whistle blower’ in her constituency had been unable to find work elsewhere in the NHS.

The Ealing MP was speaking during a parliamentary debate on hospital safety where the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced a package of measures to boost safety, transparency and openness in the NHS. And he announced that an independent review chaired by Sir Robert Francis QC would be set up to provide advice and recommendations to ensure that NHS workers can speak up "without fear of retribution".

Mr. Hunt said the review will also seek to ensure that where NHS whistleblowers had been mistreated, there were appropriate remedies for staff and accountability for those who have mistreated them.

Sarah Woolaston MP , asked if the Secretary of State would reassure NHS staff that they did not need to wait for the outcome of that review. She asked Mr Hunt whether if they raised concerns about unsafe practice, they would be protected.

Mr Hunt said she was absolutely right to say that NHS staff should not wait until the outcome of the new Francis review before speaking out.

"My view is that the atmosphere is beginning to change inside the NHS. We are getting trust boards that are now spending much more time talking about safety, but the reason I wanted to have this review is that there are problems and issues across the world about people in health care speaking out, and nowhere has really embraced the culture of safety that we have in the airline, nuclear and oil industries, where concerns about safety are on a completely different level. I know that I have the wholehearted support of NHS staff in this mission; I think it is a shame that we do not have the support of the Labour party.

June 26, 2014