Welsh Lib Dems would introduce NHS staff whistleblowing hotline
The Welsh Liberal Democrats would introduce an NHS whistleblowing hotline so that staff would be able to anonymously report their concerns, Kirsty Williams has said today.
Unlike in Scotland, there is no all-Wales whistleblowing hotline for staff. Instead, the Welsh Government sets out various processes health boards could have in place, however the policies are inconsistent.
The all-Wales policy paper sets out the processes health boards must have in place if an employee wishes to raise their concerns about patient safety or malpractice. Different health boards in Wales have different whistleblowing procedures.
Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:
“In many parts of our NHS their continues to be a culture of fear, bullying and secrecy where staff are too scared to come forward.
“Over the last few years we have seen a number of shocking reports about care within our NHS which reveals a complete failure of the systems that should be in place to protect our most vulnerable people.
“We need to encourage a stronger culture of openness in the whistleblowing process and reform complaints procedures to ensure greater independence.
“For too long the Labour Government has sat back and left NHS organisations to deal with whistleblowers themselves. That simply isn’t good enough. The Welsh Liberal Democrats would ensure that whistleblowing procedures are consistent across and we would also introduce an all-Wales Whistleblowing hotline to make it easier for staff to speak out.”
