Whistleblowers’ NHS job rights to be protected

NHS whistleblowers will be entitled to compensation if they are prevented from getting new jobs in the health service because of their disclosures, the Government will announce today.

Last year a Daily Telegraph investigation found that those who won tribunals after exposing wrongdoing were being effectively blacklisted from jobs because staff records said wrongly that they had been dismissed.

Whistleblowers also claim they have been barred from positions, despite being fully qualified, because they are viewed as troublemakers. However, under proposals announced today, staff who believe they are suffering such discrimination can take NHS bodies to tribunal, even before they have worked for trusts. If upheld, they will be entitled to compensation.

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, said: “Today we move another step closer to creating a culture of openness in the NHS, where people who have the courage to speak up about patient safety concerns are listened to, not vilified. These welcome changes will prohibit whistleblowers being discriminated against when they seek reemployment in the NHS, ultimately ensuring staff feel they are protected with the law on their side.”

Last year Sir Robert Francis published a review that found that several people struggled to find employment in the NHS after making disclosures about patient safety. Sir Robert warned of a culture of “fear, bullying and ostracisation” that punished doctors and nurses who exposed failings. Whistleblowers were derided as “snitches, troublemakers and back-stabbers”.

The announcement comes ahead of a speech by Mr Hunt at the Learning from Deaths conference, which is bringing together senior NHS leaders to find better ways to investigate complaints and learn from patients’ deaths.

A consultation on the new proposals is open and will run until May 12.