Number of NHSE whistleblowers tripled in 2021-22

The number of concerns reported by NHS England staff through the freedom to speak up process almost tripled last year, the organisation’s latest board papers have revealed.

There were 152 cases received by the internal freedom to speak up guardians in 2021-22 compared to 56 in 2020-21. This year 54 cases were received in quarter three alone.

The most common concerns are related to allegations of bullying and harassment. These accounted for nearly 40% of the total. People and team management concerns accounted for a third of FTSU cases. Within the latter, there were sub-themes of breakdown in relationships, failure to offer role models and sanctioning or ignoring poor culture.

This week’s report also set out the NHSE FTSU guardian’s next steps. These include appointing a lead guardian, finalising a strategy and continuing to engage with Health Education England and NHS Digital staff as they are brought into NHSE next year.

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Source: HSJ, 7 October 2022