Charge trusts with criminal offence for demonising whistleblowers, says HCSA

The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), a hospital doctors union, has called for an independent body to register and monitor cases where doctors raise safety concerns and for criminal charges to be brought against trusts when whistleblowers suffer harm.

Naru Narayanan, president of HCSA, called for the changes after a survey found that doctors worry that speaking up about patient safety will put their careers at risk and that the creation of freedom to speak up guardians in 2016 has not increased their confidence.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: BMJ, 13 November 2023