- Conference
- 2022 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 9 December 2021
- Decision
- Carried
This conference believes that Freedom to Speak up policies and guardians in the NHS is a positive step toward improving quality and transparency within the NHS.
Recent cases in private care homes and hospitals demonstrate that there is a need for similar roles and processes to be rolled out in the private sector that is not self-regulated by the companies, but by an external body. This could be CCG/ICS, The CQC or a fully independent body that has the authority to investigate concerns raised by individuals and to hold to account companies and accountable officers should the concerns be validated.
These companies and hospitals may be privately owned and run, but are funded by the public sector and as such should be open to scrutiny to ensure that residents are getting the best care possible and that public money is being spent where it is needed, not lining the pockets of the owners.
Therefore, this conference instructs the Service Group Executive to:
1. Raise this with NHS leaders and their Local Authority counterparts as a significant issue that must be dealt with
2. Lobby CCG/ICS and Local Authorities to only award contracts to companies that can demonstrate good employment practices for the staff they employ and that those companies must be able to demonstrate a whistleblowing procedure that protects staff who raise a concern
3. Lobby all relevant parties to either extend the power of the national Freedom to speak up guardian to the private sector or appoint a separate Freedom to Speak up guardian responsible for issues raised within the private sector.