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Should the NHS blow the whistle on medical negligence cases?
Should the NHS blow the whistle on medical negligence cases?
According to a recent report by the British Medical Journal, around 20% of doctors have come into direct contact with a colleague who is negligent of their duty of care. Worryingly, 16% of those who decided to report incidents of medical negligence were informed that their actions could have a negative impact on their own careers. At the beginning of 2011, the Department of Health made its stance on ‘whistleblowing’ clear. The NHS should strive to be as transparent as possible, even if that means professionals informing on professionals. However, despite the intent behind the proposals, might there not be a more proactive way for the NHS to police the practices of its members?
Engineering an atmosphere of distrust
By its very nature, whistleblowing carries a lot of negative associations. Those who have seen it through have reported feeling that their own jobs were in jeopardy, have experienced exclusion and suspicion from their colleagues and have seen the legal ranks close to undermine their statements. Encouraging the members of any organisation to inform on each other can only strive to engineer an atmosphere of distrust and fear. While the proposals are in place to, theoretically, put the patients’ priorities at the top of the list, is it realistic to expect an organisation to function at its best when many of its members are concerned with watching their own backs?
While there are certainly cases of medical negligence that it would be morally corrupt to ignore, there may be a case for employing other methods of transparency. Nicolas Jervis, Managing Director of personal injury specialists 1stClaims, believes that the NHS needs an injection of self-respect: “The current focus of the whistleblowing policy is for professionals to judge each other. However, it might be more far-sighted of the NHS to introduce a clause into the Hippocratic Oath that obliges every medical professional to be responsible for and report their own wrongdoings,” he suggests.
Rebuilding trust between doctor and patients
Rather than judging others mistakes, medical staff might feel encouraged to monitor themselves more closely. In addition, this might have positive financial repercussions for the NHS. A doctor who immediately reports his own failings to the relatives of a patient may find that he is less likely to be sued as a result. “A move of this sort might also help to revitalise the atmosphere of trust between doctor and patient; something that has been notably absent for some time,” says Nicolas.
In the case of medical negligence, someone must ultimately be held to account. However, a self-policing system might be just what the NHS needs to create the transparency it has been looking for. It might also give patients pause for thought before launching claims that might otherwise be deemed unnecessary. Of course, as with any system, a practice of self-monitoring would be open to abuse, but the statistics offered by the British Medical Journal suggest that, in many hospitals, that is already the case with the current system. It may pay to remember that a little pride can go a long way, but should never be at the expense of the well being of the patient.
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