In current times, how can the NHS best support honesty when things go wrong? (HSJ, 9 December)

Summary

Pandemic and backlog pressures may make candour more challenging but do not make it any less essential, the panel at a recent HSJ webinar argued. 

Content

When Helené Donnelly reflects on whether the pandemic has impacted on NHS staff’s ability to speak up when things go wrong, she says there had been reason for optimism.

“Thus far we’ve actually seen an increase in some of the numbers of people coming forward, certainly to freedom to speak up guardians,” Ms Donnelly, ambassador for cultural change at Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust.

But as she reviews the current landscape, 18 months into a pandemic, a difficult summer behind and a very concerning winter ahead, she sees reason for concern – and an uncomfortable reminder of the failings she saw when she was a nurse at Mid Staffordshire FT.

“I think we’re at a tipping point now. We’re at a point in time when burnout is really high, there are huge issues around capacity and retention.

“And the message from the centre is: ‘Just get the job done and get it done quickly.’ That is a dangerous position to be in because it will silence people. That was essentially the climate we had at Mid Staffs which led people to either cut corners and lie about it, or just stop caring in the way that we should, and we should never lose sight of that.”

Ms Donnelly – who raised concerns while at Mid Staffordshire and ultimately went on to give evidence at both inquiries into what is deemed the biggest care failing in NHS history – was speaking at a recent HSJ webinar. Run in association with RLDatix, it brought together an expert panel to consider how the NHS can best support honesty in a time of extreme pressure.