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This post is a transcript of an interview on Times Radio Breakfast on 7 September 2023 in which Dr Jane Somerville, Emeritus professor of cardiology at Imperial College, was asked if the Lucy Letby case has uncovered a problem of the difficulties doctors have of voicing their concerns in hospitals. In the interview, Dr Somerville refers to systemic persecution of NHS staff who speak up about patient safety. She goes on to identify the key issues of power; cover-up culture; suppression of complaints/concerns; career-ending reprisals against staff who speak up; and the almost universal failure of employment tribunals to protect whistleblowers.  RW: Rosie Wright (Times Radio presenter) JS: Dr Jane Somerville (Emeritus professor of cardiology, Imperial College) RW: One of the striking things about the Lucy Letby case was how doctors raised concerns but were told to, in effect, butt out by their managers. Now we know the Letby case was one-of-a-kind but a senior doctor has told The Times that the persecution of doctors who speak up is systemic. Here’s Jane Somerville, Emeritus Professor of Cardiology Imperial College and one of the country's most renowned consultants. Jane, thank you for your time – explain if you can. Management in hospitals. Why is it that you believe that they’re failing to listen to anyone working in the hospital who raises concerns? JS: Good morning, I think that the managers have power. I think they have a cover up culture which is very severe. I think they want to stop people complaining. And they like persecuting the doctors. So anybody who speaks up for safety of a patient – which is vital for a doctor to do – they will persecute. We don't know how often this occurs. We do know the outcomes in many patients. It is extremely serious. They lose their jobs. They lose their livelihood sometimes, and they are persecuted by the managers (which also include their chosen doctors). RW: Presumably you are speaking about this from experience, having witnessed it? JS: Oh yes I've witnessed it many times over the last four years since I've been interested in the problem rather than practising medicine. I’ve wanted to help them. I personally am involved in whistleblowing. I'm not a whistleblower – I escaped. I had plenty to talk about, but I didn't get involved as a whistleblower. Most whistleblowers that we know in Justice for Doctors have blown and have lost their jobs. It's a very serious problem. It's systemic in the National Health Service. It may not be in every trust – we don't know because they don't keep a record. It's a very serious problem because it ends up in the loss often of good consultants. Recently in the press there has been the loss of an obstetrician in Hampshire, a maxfax (maxillofacial surgeon) in Bath, a cardiologist in Saint Helier (a disastrous trust for this) and you know about all the dreadful goings on in maternity – I don't need to repeat that. It's really very serious, and the managers must be regulated – they are an unregulated bunch. RW: Jane, presumably when there is a problem there is a process in place for, let's say, a concerned doctor to be able to report it. What's wrong in that process do you think? JS: Well, the first thing is it doesn't work in many cases. I'm sure there are many where it does, but it doesn't work in serious cases. A cover up process from the top to the bottom – or from the middle upwards, we don't know where – continues until finally the doctor may find himself in an employment tribunal. And that’s another set of disasters – the judiciary within employment tribunals. They should never get to that is the first thing. And when they get to that, 97% are lost by the litigant, by the complainant. RW: The argument is great – changing culture and practice among trust managers and executives. RW: Jane, thank you so much for your time. Jane Somerville, a Professor of Cardiology at Imperial College. I must say that the paper (The Times) has reached out to the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Ministry of Justice for comments. For people reading online that story will be updated when we hear from them.

MEG interviews Patient Safety Learning's Chief Executive, Helen Hughes, for this year's World Patient Safety Day. Helen discusses how Patient Safety Learning contributes to improving patient safety, the 'Blueprint for Action', how the new LFPSE service will impact patient engagement and the role leadership plays in patient safety.

Healthcare IT News interviewed Wendy Deibert, senior vice president of clinical solutions at Caregility, a telehealth technology and services company, to talk about virtual nursing's role in helping tackle the nursing shortage.

In this blog post, Liv System’s Nigel Scard talks with Courtney Grant, a Senior Human Factors engineer with Transport for London (TfL). Nigel and Courtney worked together for a number of years at TfL on a number of station and line upgrade projects. A few years ago, Courtney applied his Human Factors and research skills with great tenacity, to a serious healthcare related incident which impacted him personally. This resulted in an important, lifesaving change to ambulance service procedures. In this interview, Courtney describes this in detail and also describes his recent work in supporting the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) in supporting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the latest Patient Safety Watch newsletter, Jeremy Hunt interviews Aidan Fowler on his role as National Director for Patient Safety, the impact the new health and care bill will have on patient safety, and his personal wish list for the next couple of years. (Interview appears at the end of the newsletter.)

Liz O'Riordan, a breast cancer surgeon of 20 years, describes her experience of developing breast cancer, having to give up her job and how now she has been able to help hundreds of thousands of women through her book, blogging and being an ambassador.

Hospitals across the US are grappling with nurse shortages as the pandemic continues to change the healthcare system as we know it. Two intensive care unit nurses who left their jobs shared their experiences in Becker's Hospital Review.

Patient Safety Learning interviews a critical care outreach nurse who has been shielding during the pandemic and hears about the effect it has had on her and the support she has received.

Pharmacy Times® interviewed Allison Hanson, PharmD, BCPS, 2019-2020 Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) International Medication Safety Management Fellow, to discuss medication safety during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including key medication safety takeaways from the pandemic and current advancement efforts in the promotion of knowledge around medication safety.

In a new series for the hub, Martin will be interviewing healthcare professionals from various specialties to capture their experience and insight during the coronavirus pandemic. Learning from frontline staff is crucial, now more than ever. Prior to a predicted second wave hitting us, the government and leaders must listen to what has gone well but, most importantly, not so well for both staff and patients. Martin is a passionate nurse working on a covid unit and wants to promote learning to ensure patient and staff safety. This initially started as a way of connecting and not feeling alone but what Martin has found is that there are many voices that need and want to be heard but just don’t know how to speak up and out. In all of the interviews the healthcare professionals wanted to remain anonymous which is indicative of their fear of reprisals from their organisation. In this first interview, Martin interviews a new student district nurse who has been working within the community in the South West. Their role involves supporting care homes with end of life care and assisting in keeping people with long term conditions at home. 

This interview is part of the hub's 'Frontline insights during the pandemic' series where Martin Hogan interviews healthcare professionals from various specialties to capture their experience and insight during the coronavirus pandemic. Here Martin interviews a chief nurse of clinical productivity leading dynamic change within culture and governance. 15 years in the post, the chief nurse is responsible for leading improvement in standards of nursing and service. 

Patient Safety Learning interviews Jules Mckoy, a Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Midwife. In this interview, Jules highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting on the mental health of women during their pregnancy and after birth. She describes some of the ways they are trying to alleviate anxiety locally and raises concerns about the longer term implications of a rise in postnatal depression.

Barnsley NHS Trust Head of Nursing Quality Gavin Portier and Patient Safety Learning Founder and Chair Jonathan Hazan sit down to discuss how positive messaging and learning around patient safety produces positive outcomes.

Patient Safety Learning interviews a critical care outreach nurse from America to find out the challenges frontline teams are facing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Helen is a Consultant Anaesthetist at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUHFT) and a Senior Clinical Research Fellow in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford. Here, Helen highlights the importance of support and training and gives an example of how the OxSTaR team are transforming staff teamworking skills and improving patient safety.

Joanna is a Partner in the law firm Bevan Brittan LLP. In our interview, Joanna talks about her role supporting healthcare staff through the legal and investigatory processes that follow an adverse event, and why we must do all we can to maximise the opportunity to learn when things go wrong in healthcare.

Helen Hughes, Chief Executive of Patient Safety Learning, highlights the importance of organisational patient safety standards, creating a culture that is free from fear and collaborating with both patients and frontline staff.