National Guardian's Office Annual Report - Making Speaking Up business as usual (12 January 2023)

Summary

The National Guardian's Office and the role of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian were created in response to recommendations made in Sir Robert Francis QC’s 2015 report The Freedom to Speak Up. The office leads, trains and supports a network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in England and conducts speaking up reviews to identify learning and support improvement of the speaking up culture of the healthcare sector.

This annual report shares intelligence and learning collated by the National Guardian’s Office, including data about the cases Freedom to Speak Up Guardians receive. Over 20,000 speaking up cases were brought last year, meaning cases remain at the record level set in 2020/21.

The report also features case studies from different healthcare providers across England, sharing the experiences of people who have spoken up about a wide range of issues, and demonstrating the ways in which organisations have improved staff confidence in being able to speak up.