Clear national whistleblowing policy
Morecambe Bay Investigation · Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation · Issued 3 March 2015 · Addressed to: Department of Health and Social Care
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
We commend the introduction of a clear national policy on whistleblowing. As well as protecting the interests of whistleblowers, we recommend that this is implemented in a way that ensures that a systematic and proportionate response is made by Trusts to concerns identified. Action: the Department of Health.
Morecambe Bay Investigation, Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation · 3 Mar 2015 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The National Guardian's Office was established in 2016, hosted initially by the CQC, to support Freedom to Speak Up Guardians across the NHS.
- Every NHS trust in England now has a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian in post (National Guardian's Office).
- The CQC assesses providers' handling of staff concerns as part of its well-led inspection framework (Learning Not Blaming, Cm 9113, Department of Health, July 2015).
Sources
Response — verbatim from government
●Department of Health and Social Care
50. We accept this recommendation. The Department has accepted in principle
the recommendations made by Sir Robert Francis QC in his Freedom to Speak Up
report; and has consulted on a package of measures to support implementation of
the principles and actions that he set out in that report.
51. The consultation, which closed on 4 June 2015, focused on how measures can
be implemented locally, the role of national bodies, the role and title of the Freedom
to Speak Up Guardian, and standards for professionals on how to raise concerns.
The Department’s response to the consultation, including measures to better support
whistleblowers in future, are described earlier in this document.
52. In particular, a new Independent National Officer for whistleblowing will be
hosted by the Care Quality Commission. This role will provide national leadership not
just on the treatment of whistleblowers but on how providers respond to the concerns
raised by staff. The Care Quality Commission already look at how providers respond
to complaints, other forms of patient feedback and how well the provider engages its
staff; in the future the Care Quality Commission will also consider in its inspection
programme whether providers respond receptively to issues raised by staff. The
Department’s response also sets out measures to facilitate a Freedom to Speak Up
Guardian in every Trust.
Department of Health and Social Care · 16 Jul 2015 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 31 Dec 2015 Freedom to Speak Up policy established with National Guardian's Office and guardians in every NHS trust. Source →
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.