NHS guardians won’t help whistleblowers unless they’re protected from bullying too

The third Francis report on how to build a safe NHS has been published, this time focusing on the problem of how staff can raise their concerns about patient care without fear of victimisation or whistleblowing – a last resort that happens only when there are no other adequate avenues to report failures.
The report, which took evidence from more than 600 people about their experiences in the NHS and another 19,000 from an online survey, says nothing new to those working in the NHS, where bullying is endemic and most people survive working in the NHS’s “pervasive culture of fear” by keeping their mouths shut.