Information about the Bill to establish an Office of The Whistleblower in the UK

Summary

For too long, staff who raise and escalate genuine patient safety concerns have risked being victimised and excluded simply for speaking out for patients. All too often, a patient safety issue becomes an employment issue. As a result, early intervention, examination of the underlying issues and establishing how to resolve them take a back seat—at the expense of patients.

How will an Office of the Whistleblower help make healthcare safer?

A Bill to establish an Office of the Whistleblower to protect whistleblowers and whistleblowing is currently being discussed in Parliament. The Bill spells out the scale of the issues and sets out proposals for an Office of the Whistleblower. Everyone with an interest in the issues should understand what the Bill will achieve:

• Currently, there is no obligation in law for anyone to investigate any whistleblowing, no matter how serious. Employment tribunals only investigate contractual issues.
• The Office of the Whistleblower will ensure that all concerns are properly and independently investigated, that outcomes are acted upon and individuals responsible are held to account.
• Whether it's tackling money laundering or ensuring patient safety, the bill will no longer allow whistleblowers and their concerns to be ignored.

Follow the progress of the Bill in Parliament