Everything posted by Steve Turner
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Is the word 'Whistleblowing' taboo?
Community PostThank you. I agree. I think it's sometimes forgotten that when staff fail to speak out, are unable to speak out or are silenced & victimised for speaking, out it falls on patients, careers and relatives to do this. At great cost, because by this time someone has usually been harmed.
- 5 replies
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- Accountability
- Board member
- Bullying
- Communication problems
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Cornwall Care Homes scandal: New Safeguarding Review highlights neglect and abuse of residents and failings to address concerns (November 2020)
B2334f82d6b8822dc934faffe01498a5Here is Cornwall Council's Response to the Safeguarding Report: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/council-news-room/media-releases/news-from-2020/news-from-november-2020/statement-in-response-to-the-safeguarding-adults-review-on-the-former-morleigh-group/
- 2 comments
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- After action review
- Care home
- Clinical governance
- Criminal behaviour
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- After action review
- Care home
- Clinical governance
- Criminal behaviour
- Investigation
- Leadership
- Older People (over 65)
- Organisation / service factors
- Organisational culture
- Organisational Performance
- Patient harmed
- Patient suffering
- Private sector
- Resources / Organisational management
- Social care staff
- Speaking up
- Whistleblowing
- Root cause analysis
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Cornwall Care Homes scandal: New Safeguarding Review highlights neglect and abuse of residents and failings to address concerns (November 2020)
Content ArticleElderly people in care homes in Cornwall were abused and neglected while failings led to reports of concerns not being investigated, a new Safeguarding Adults Review has found. The Morleigh Group, which operated seven homes in Cornwall and has since shut down, was exposed in a BBC Panorama investigation in 2016. A new Safeguarding Adults Review which was commissioned as a result of the TV show has been published making a number of recommendations to all agencies which were involved in the case. The review was completed in April 2019 but has only just been made public - Rob Rotchell, Cornwall Council Cabinet member for adult social care said that this was due to the number of agencies being involved.
- 2 comments
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- After action review
- Care home
- Clinical governance
- Criminal behaviour
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Tagged with:
- After action review
- Care home
- Clinical governance
- Criminal behaviour
- Investigation
- Leadership
- Older People (over 65)
- Organisation / service factors
- Organisational culture
- Organisational Performance
- Patient harmed
- Patient suffering
- Private sector
- Resources / Organisational management
- Social care staff
- Speaking up
- Whistleblowing
- Root cause analysis
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Is the word 'Whistleblowing' taboo?
Community PostIt's #SpeakUpMonth in the #NHS so why isn't the National Guardian Office using the word whistleblowing? After all it was the Francis Review into whistleblowing that led to the recommendation for Speak Up Guardians. I believe that if we don't talk about it openly and use the word 'WHISTLEBLOWING' we will be unable to learn and change. Whistleblowing isn’t a problem to be solved or managed, it’s an opportunity to learn and improve. So many genuine healthcare whistleblowers seem to be excluded from contributing to the debate, and yes not all those who claim to be whistleblowers are genuine. The more we move away for labelling and stereotyping, and look at what's happening from all angles, the more we will learn. Regardless of our position, role or perceived status, we all need to address this much more openly and explicitly, in a spirit of truth and with a genuine desire to learn and change.
- 5 replies
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- Accountability
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Should patients be actively involved in following up their referrals?
Community PostI've been posting advice to patients advising them to personally follow up on referrals. Good advice I believe, which could save lives. I'm interested in people's views on this. This is the message I'm sharing: **Important message for patients relating to clinical referrals in England** We need a specific effort to ensure ALL referrals are followed up. Some are getting 'lost'. I urge all patients to check your referral has been received, ensure your GP and the clinical team you have been referred to have the referral. Make sure you have a copy yourself too. Things are difficult and we accept there are waits. Having information on the progress of your referral, and an assurance that is is being clinically prioritised is vital. If patients are fully informed and assured of the progress of their referrals in real-time it could save time and effort in fielding enquiries and prevent them going missing or 'falling into a black hole', which is a reality for some people. It would also prevent clinical priorities being missed. Maybe this is happening, and patients are being kept fully informed in real-time of the progress of their referrals. It would be good to hear examples of best practice.
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- Consultation
- Database
- Deterioration
- Electronic Health Record
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- Consultation
- Database
- Deterioration
- Electronic Health Record
- Flawed processes
- Handover
- Information sharing
- Leadership
- Long waiting list
- Organisation / service factors
- Organisational Performance
- Patient engagement
- Policies / Protocols / Procedures
- Reports / results
- Secondary impact
- Tests / investigations
- Transfer of care
- Transparency
- Treatment
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What is most needed for health and care staff to feel safe at work?
Community PostI believe staff are unsafe if patients are unsafe. The two things go together. The other thing is that when staff see bad practice going unchecked and are victimised for speaking out they leave if they can. Leading to a wide variation across orgnaisations. This is behind many large scale failings in healthcare & part of a worldwide cultural and societal problem.
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What is most needed for health and care staff to feel safe at work?
Community PostFor me the top 3 are: 1. An individual duty of candour enshrined in law. The current DoC holds institutions not individuals to account. 2. Prescribers held to account for failure to follow the RPS Prescribing Competency Framework. This is a competency framework for ALL prescribers. 3. More education on the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act, and holding to account those who do not follow it. I've chosen these three areas because they are measurable and link directly to high profile failings including: * The alleged cover up of the death of Robbie Powell ( a Police Report suggested 35 criminal charges & the case is with the CPS). * The case of Oliver McGowan where prescribing a medicine he had previously reacted badly too contribuited to his death. * The Gosport Hospital scandal where in June 2018, the Gosport independent panel reported that there was “a disregard for human life and a culture of shortening lives of a large number of patients” at the hospital.
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The history of Duty Of Candour and why Robbie's Law matters
Content ArticleHow many of you know the full history of duty of candour in healthcare in the UK? It was Will Powell who, after the tragic death of his son Robbie, brought to light that there was none. Even today we only have an institutional duty of candour in place, leaving clinicians with the right to lie as no specific law exists to prevent this.
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Blacklisting by the NHS...it never ends?
Community PostGood question, I don't know. Some suggestions: I tried setting up the Turn Up The Volume! movement and we held two sucessful national workshops. This, I believe, helped bring together the main themes, involve patients (who are often not involved in these type of forums) and link people together who would not have met otherwise. The workshops were attended by senior NHS people, and then shunned by the NHS. http://www.carerightnow.co.uk/turn-up-the-volume-resources-2/ I have been commissioned to conduct a few workshops on whistleblowing (looking at the situation for all angles and encouraging reflection) in NHS trusts, and once in a University. They were well received locally. The NHS Whsitleblowing Support Scheme commissioned a study by Liverpool John Moores University in 2019 'Final evaluation survey - NHS whistleblowers support scheme' I have asked several times when this is to be published but received no reply. This may shed some light on the situation. Realted NHS web page: https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/whistleblowers-support-scheme/ It's a tough one to crack and very senior people just won't talk about the deep seated problems of victimisation and blacklisting of staff and patients, and have unlimited resources to try and keep a lid on it. As exemplified by the National Guardian's Office, which as you know I believe is a dangerously (some say deliberately) flawed initiative.
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Blacklisting by the NHS...it never ends?
Community PostGood points Helen and Anton02. Thank you both. I did raise an FOI on the CQC's role, which revealed that they had incorrectly dismissed my 2012 concerns as 'all third hand'. The CQC also said they had lost the report that they asked to be commissioned in response to my concerns. A report I never saw. I think there's a lot more I could 'FOI'. I've chosen not to as it would take up so much time and probably be little help. Most of the blacklisting I experienced is informal and can't be proven. In fact I could be wrong on some of it. The loss of a contract which I was awarded, and which was taken from me the day after the award without a valid reason being given, is a different matter. I chose not to take formal action on this as I didn't want to get involved in legal wrangling. I've never applied for NHS employment since leaving Assertive Outreach in 2006 (except to apply help out short-term as a covid returner, without success). Fortunately I've been lucky as I had other alternatives. I do some teaching, and support 20 Community Pharmacies on Information Governance & do clinical assessment work. It's been tough financially, but I don't regret my decision to leave and to speak out. After all, as I see it, I was just trying to do my job properly.
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Blacklisting by the NHS...it never ends?
Community PostThanks Helen. This is such an emotive subject and people (staff and patients) are victimised & blacklisted for speaking out in subtle, and not so subtle, ways all the time. I appreciate your reply. I wasn't expecting any. Maybe someone will comment anomyously. Also, I welcome criticism and questions on my views & experiences, that's how we can all learn.
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Blacklisting by the NHS...it never ends?
Community PostWay back in March I applied to re-join the NHS to help with COVID-19. I am a mental health nurse prescriber with an unblemished clinical record. I have had an unusual career which includes working in senior management before returning to clinical work in 2002. I have also helped deliver several projects that achieved nation recognition, including one that was highly commented by NICE in 2015, and one that was presented at the NICE Annual Conference in 2018. Several examples of my work can be found on the NICE Shared Learning resource pages. Since applying as an NHS returner. I have been interviewed online 6 times by 3 different organisations, all repeating the same questions. I was told that the area of work I felt best suited to working in - primary care/ community / mental health , specialising in prescribing and multi-morbidity - was in demand. A reference has been taken up and my DBS check eventually came through. I also received several (mostly duplicated) emails. On 29th June I received a call from the acute trust in Cornwall about returning. I explained that I had specified community / primary care as I have no recent acute hospital experience. The caller said they would pass me over to NHS Kernow, an organisation I had mentioned in my application. I have heard nothing since. I can only assume the backlisting I have suffered for speaking out for patients, is still in place. If this is true (and I am always open to being corrected) it is an appalling reflection on the NHS culture in my view. Here is my story: http://www.carerightnow.co.uk/i-dont-want-to-hear-anything-bad-whistleblowing-in-health-social-care/
- Whistleblowers’ support scheme
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Whistleblowers’ support scheme
B2334f82d6b8822dc934faffe01498a5I believe this scheme can help some people. It's a step in the right direction in my view. I have reservations about the coaching aspect though. Many whistleblowers are well respected clinicians and able to sucessfully manage their own careers in a non-toxic environment. They were simply trying to do their job properly when they became 'whistleblowers' and, what was a patient safety issue, suddenly became an employment issue. It's the isolation and blacklisting that they can suffer that's the problem. I'm not sure how this can be overcome. Steve