Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to support NHS staff who act as whistle-blowers on patient safety concerns.

We have established an independent National Guardian to help drive positive cultural change across the National Health Service so that speaking up becomes business as usual. The National Guardian has issued guidance and training and provides support and leadership to a network of over 1,000 local Freedom to Speak Up Guardians throughout healthcare in England whose role is to help and support staff who want to speak up about their concerns.

Workers who want to speak up about something can also receive support from Speak Up Direct, a service the Government has set up to provide workers with advice and support about speaking up.

In 2018, the Government enhanced legal protections available for whistle blowers to prohibit discrimination against job applicants on the grounds that they have spoken up in the past. This complements longstanding legal provisions that protect workers against detrimental treatment for speaking up.