NHS staff still fear ‘finger of blame’ when not reporting mistakes

A report by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has warned that despite repeated attempts by government ministers to improve care and create more honesty within the NHS, staff are still not reporting mistakes because they fear the ‘finger of blame’.

The measures, which included appointing whistleblowing guardians at all hospitals, were brought in after the Mid Staffordshire scandal that found a link between the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of patients between 1995 and 2000 to an ingrained culture of fear throughout the trust.

Bernard Jenkin, MP and chairman of the committee, said “There is an acute need for the Government to follow through on its commitment to turn the NHS in England into a learning organisation; an organisation where staff can feel safe to identify mistakes and incidents without fearing the finger of blame.”

The Government last year announced the launch of the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, an independent body which will investigate serious hospital mistakes, which comes into force later this year. Under the scheme, any staff who provide evidence will be protected from legal action during the investigation.  If ultimately it is found that they were not in the wrong, they will not be sued.  However, if they are found to be to blame, they could still face legal action.

The report has warned that the Branch cannot be fully independent or carry out proper investigations.

Julie Mellor, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, said “We know from our casework that families who complain to the NHS want lessons to be learnt so that future mistakes are avoided.

“The NHS still has a long way to go to provide staff with the relevant skills to carry out fair, high-quality investigations into avoidable harm.

“The Government and NHS leaders must commit to providing training, national standards and accountability for the NHS, to make it safer for all.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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