SCIE Practice guide 09: Dignity in care

Whistleblowing

Key research and policy findings
Practice points
Ideas from practice
Other resources

'Society desperately needs principled and courageous people, and it needs them to be successful in exposing problems and exploring solutions.' (Martin, 1999)

It takes a great deal of courage for an individual to raise concerns about poor practice or abuse within an organisation. Where organisational culture tolerates bad practice an individual challenging this can become the focus of attention (Dadswell, 2000). They may be labelled with negative words and seen as the wrongdoer. Members within the organisation may see the whistleblower as a traitor (Greene, 2004). Fear of legal action and compensation claims can deter organisations from acknowledging and dealing with whistleblowers’ disclosures.

As Martin (Martin, 1999) points out: 'the organisation has all the advantages. It has far more money, unlimited time and usually little individual responsibility. It can stall, resist giving information, hire expensive lawyers and mount attacks.’ But there are many cases where people have chosen not to blow the whistle - with disastrous results. For example, witnesses in the Bristol heart scandal said they had been afraid to come forward even though they knew there was something wrong (BBC, 1999). Investigations into cases of abuse invariably lead to calls for the implementation of whistleblowing policies. It is vital that whistleblowers are supported and protected and that enabling whistleblowers to come forward is seen as an aspect of excellence within organisations.

Attitudes towards whistleblowers are changing (Benn, 2000), but a lot still needs to be done to ensure that workers feel safe enough to air concerns. For organisations there are clear advantages to supporting whistleblowers - these can include safeguarding the safety of staff and the people using the service as well as the organisation’s reputation (Holihead, 2000). Failure to implement appropriate policies will lead to lack of public confidence.

New members of staff are often in a position to be more objective than existing staff members, who may have become accustomed to certain practices over a period of time (Dadswell, 2000). It is therefore important to ensure that new employees are supported to feed back on what they observe and that whistleblowing is covered during induction.

If whistleblowers are protected and viewed in a positive rather than negative light, then more people will be willing to disclose concerns about poor practice. The consequence of this will undoubtedly be better protection for vulnerable people.

Since July 1999 whistleblowers have been protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. The Act protects public, private and voluntary sector workers from victimisation in employment following a disclosure which fits into any of the following categories:

a criminal offence
the breach of a legal obligation
a miscarriage of justice
a danger to the health and safety of any individual
damage to the environment
deliberate covering up of information tending to show any of the above (Health and Safety Executive, 2006).

Further information is available on the Health & Safety Executive's whistleblowing website.

Where there is no threat of immediate danger, whistleblowers should protect themselves by ensuring they prepare carefully to make a disclosure. It may help to gather evidence (for example, record dates, times and the names of any witnesses), seek support and take external advice, possibly from a voluntary advice service or union.

Public Concern at Work (PCaW) is an independent organisation that offers support to whistleblowers. It was established in 1993 'in response to a number of disasters and public scandals. Almost every official enquiry revealed that staff had been aware of the dangers but had not felt able to raise the matter internally or to pursue it if the concern was not taken seriously’ (Van Den Hende, 2001).

The organisation supports both individuals and employers by:

offering free advice and assistance to individuals who are concerned about apparent danger or malpractice in the workplace
providing professional advice, training and consultancy services for employers and organisations
influencing public policy through research and campaigning activities.

Key research and policy findings

A number of high-profile scandals have highlighted the reluctance of individuals to disclose concerns about poor practice or abuse within the workplace (Van Den Hende, 2001).
Investigations into cases of abuse invariably lead to calls for the implementation of whistleblowing policies.
Organisations that support whistleblowers will protect staff and people who use services, safeguarding the reputation of the organisation and increasing public confidence (Holihead, 2000).
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 protects whistleblowers from victimisation.
Public Concern at Work supports whistleblowers and promotes good practice in employment (Van Den Hende, 2001).
Most health and social care professionals are required to register with a professional body and adhere to a code of conduct. These bodies should be able to offer advice to whistleblowers as well as register complaints against their members.

Practice points

Staff need to be made aware that they should report concerns and that they will be offered protection if they make a disclosure in good faith.
Organisations should implement a whistleblowing policy.
The whistleblowing policy should give special consideration to staff who are in their probationary period.
Whistleblowing awareness should be included in induction.
Staff should be given information on external means of support (such as PCaW).
Potential whistleblowers should prepare by gathering evidence, seeking support and taking external advice.

Whistleblowing do’s and don’ts

Do: