Whistleblowing in The Medical Community Essay example

He claimed that a new shift system had caused at least one death and one unnecessary operation taking place, and said that he and a small number of consultants were overworked and patient safety and continuity of care were compromised. The claimant had told the Manchester hearing he raised his concerns about the new ‘Consultant of the Day’ system with the trust clinical director Mr Watson and then the trust medical director Mrs Schram; however, he was reprimanded and told not to voice concerns again. The consultant said he was then investigated over a series of ‘malicious, vexatious and frivolous’ allegations and ‘imaginary deaths and complications had been conjured up’ to create a case against him. He believed that the investigation and the process from the beginning was about punishment for raising his clinical concerns, and he argued that the investigation did not examining the veracity’ of the allegations against

• A breach of confidentiality can result in what consequences for a health care professional?

One of the most critical factors which contribute to the number of preventable cases of healthcare harm is the culture of silence surrounding these cases. The fear of medical providers to report incidences is related to the possibility of punishment and liability due to a medical error (Discovery, 2010). The criminalization of some acts of medical error has resulted in job dismissal, criminal charges and jail time for some healthcare workers. This is despite the fact that the system they are working in helped to create the situation which led to the error in the first place. Human error, due to fatigue and system errors can result in deadly consequences, but by criminalizing the error it effectively shuts down the ability to correct the root problem. Healthcare workers, working at all levels within the medical system, can provide valuable input on how to improve the processes and prevent harm from occurring (Discovery, 2010).

In every setting there should be a policy and procedures on whistle blowing. The whistle blowing Policy is put into place to provide protection against the person in the work place against victimisation or any form of punishment (physical or verbal) when concerns are genuine. If you suffer any victimisation or punishment due to whistleblowing you may be able to take your case to an Employment Tribunal. If you have any concerns about misconduct or malpractice that is occurring in your work setting you should report it to your manager/supervisor. All information given is confidential. The whistleblower is a person that discloses wrongdoing that threatens others, rather than a complaint about their own treatment.

Whistle blowing does take courage. There is the risk of being bullied or harassed as a result, but anyone who whistle blows has the right to protection from the person they have raised concerns about. If you suffer as a result of a whistle blowing incident the UK Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 offers legal protection.

One of the recommendations that emerged from the francis report was the expectation upon all NHS staff of a “duty of Candour”. It says Every healthcare organisation and everyone working for them must be honest, open and truthful in all their dealings with patients and the public, and organisational and personal interests must never be allowed to outweigh the duty to be honest, open and truthful.

In the case of the VA scandal many of the whistleblowers are scared about what will happen to them once the information is out there. “VA whistleblower reprisal cases received by OSC has been rising quickly, from 405 in fiscal 2013 to a projected 712 for fiscal 2015 – a 75 percent jump” (Davidson). The idea of the whistleblower is that the truth will be exposed and the problems will be fixed. When a whistleblower decides to come forward they are risking their jobs and how other people view them. According to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis) “The VA has a culture problem with whistleblower retaliation.” Basically Sen. Johnson is saying that if a person decides to come forward they are not guaranteed protection from retaliation by coworkers. Without these whistleblowers the VA scandal would not have come to light. The country never would have known about the falsifying of patient documents or the other problems facing the

For many whistleblowers, fear of persecution and retaliation has prevented them from speaking out against improper behaviors at their institutions. Because of the dangers that whistleblowers are exposed to, many companies have become proactive in promoting and protecting whistleblowing. As a case and point, we need to look no further than the banking giant, Barclays.

Review “Just pucker and blow: An analysis of corporate whistleblowers” in Chapter 2. Please respond to the following:

-Whistleblowing: Whistleblowing is a way in which you can make other members of staff/managers aware of any poor practice, concerns or illegality. It’s important that anyone concerned about issues surrounding safeguarding should be able to report them in a confidential way which has no repercussions towards the individual who reported it. All members of staff should feel that they are able to raise concerns without any fear of discrimination or victimisation.

A whistleblower is a person who raises a concern about a wrongdoing in their workplace or within the NHS or social care setting. If a person wishes to raise their concerns they should obtain a

“The definition of a health professional is a person who works to protect and improve people’s health by the diagnosis and treatment of illness to bring about a complete recovery from mental, physical and social perspectives, either directly or indirectly (Kurban, 2010, pg. 760).” Nurses in the community today have acquired an increasing responsibility to intervene with medical decisions. In the past, there were clear differences between nurses and doctors. It was more common for a nurse to be supervised directly under the physician. They are not just performing Doctor’s orders anymore. The nurse role in patient care has been widely expanded. Allegations against someone can be one of the most stressful moments of their careers. Negligence

necessity for whistleblowing presents itself a decision is required. However, do not rush into a

An argument can be made that whistle blowing should only be warranted when there is a group or a majority that feels something should be brought to the attention of an outside authority if deemed so. As discussed in the study the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that since his actions were not a concerted effort among him and his colleagues, the

Whistleblowers perform in many careers and are found at all levels of an organization: scientists and secretaries, lawyers and paralegals, managers and staff, security personnel and computer specialists, etc. They are as varied in age, ethnic background, education, profession, sex, and income as the population at large.