Murder detective among ex-police hired by NHS trust in move that could deter whistleblowers
Former police officers, including a murder detective, have been hired by NHS hospitals in a move that campaigners have warned risks discouraging whistleblowers.
The Sunday Telegraph has revealted that retired officers have been employed by a trust currently under scrutiny for its treatment of doctors who raise patient safety concerns.
One of them has taken up a patient safety incident investigator role worth up to £57,349 a year. Meanwhile a senior detective has been called into multiple trusts on an ad hoc basis to conduct investigations.
Last night a leading patient group called on the NHS to be transparent about exactly how such personnel are being used, “given the ongoing concerns about how such roles interact with whistleblowers”.
Paul Whiteing, chief executive of the charity Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA), said: “We at AvMA welcome any steps taken by Trusts to professionalise the investigation of patient safety incidents. This is long overdue.
“But given the on-going concerns about how such roles interact with whistleblowers, to maintain trust and confidence of all of the staff, trusts need to be clear, open and transparent about why they are making such appointments and the role and duties of those they employ to fulfil them, whatever their backgrounds.”
Campaigners have warned that some NHS trusts deliberately seek to conflate patient safety issues with staff workplace investigations.
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Source: The Telegraph, 30 September 2023