Patient welfare fears 'ignored'

Nurses said they feared raising safety concerns would damage their careers

A third of Scotland's nurses who raised concerns about patient safety say no action was taken, a survey has found.

Four out of five who responded to the Royal College of Nursing survey said they feared victimisation or damage to their careers if they spoke out.

The RCN is setting up a dedicated phone line to allow members to talk in confidence about their worries.

The Scottish Government said it expected health boards to implement its patient safety programme.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that a lot of work had already gone into maintaining an open relationship.

She added: "We have very good relations at a national level with the staff side.

Survey findings 62% had reported concerns 38% said no action was taken 80% worried about victimisation, personal reprisals or a negative effect on their career 24% discouraged or told directly not to report concerns 43% felt confident their health board would protect them 64% unaware if employer had a policy on whistleblowing

"My experience at a local level is that those staff side relationships with the management of the health boards locally are very, very good. We would expect any concerns to be raised and to be dealt with.

"Clearly the RCN has raised some concerns here. We need to make sure the very good policies that we have are being implemented locally, and if they're not I can assure you we will take action to make sure that they are."

The RCN surveyed 571 members in Scotland via its website between 24 April and 1 May.

RCN Scotland associate director Norman Provan called on the Scottish Government to ensure health boards listened to staff worries.

He said: "As an immediate first step, we are calling on all health boards and employers in the independent sector to make give a categorical commitment to staff that they will be protected from victimisation and reprisals if they speak out.

"Health boards and other employers should also take action to make sure that all staff are fully aware of whistle-blowing policies and procedures."

'No-blame culture'

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said patient safety was a priority and staff should feel able to raise concerns.

She said: "For the first time in Scotland, we have the Scottish Patient Safety Programme designed to improve the safety of care across the NHS.

"NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government have developed a range of policies to encourage employees to raise concerns without fear of penalty or victimisation. Key to this is a commitment to a no-blame culture."