Reproduced with the kind permission of Freedom
to Care, a UK whistleblowing charity
How the messenger gets shot
An
except from Whistleblowing in the Health Service: Accountability,
Law & Professional Practice by Geoff
Hunt, Founder of FtC
While
one should try to be positive about the subject of accountability,
emphasising what is necessary for good practice
in management and health care, it is judicious perhaps for
the conscientious employee about to raise a concern to
be aware of what they might expect
in the worst scenario. While one hopes and works for the
best, one needs all along be prepared for the worst. Just
as the citizen at large has lost touch with the realities
of democratic decay in the UK in the 1990s, so the health
service employee is often (even now) quite unsuspecting about
the degree and scale of defensive, capricious or ignorant
behaviour on the part of those entrusted with authority.
Furthermore, it is a worthwhile exercise when thinking about
reforms to ask why institutions respond in the specific non-accountable
ways that they sometimes do. A brief overview of the institutional
alternatives to accountable practice would be amusing if
they were not so tragic for the victims. One could roughly
arrange these by the degree of defensiveness to which the
authority feels driven.
Hot air
The authorities will appear at first to share one's concern.
Many words will be generated, insubstantial memoranda may
fly about, a meeting may be convened, and promises will be
made. No action will be taken, except perhaps the most trivial.
At a later date any conversation not recorded on paper may
be strenuously denied.
Send to Coventry
A change of mood comes over certain managers and colleagues.
Initially this is quite subtle. Greetings, smiles and friendly
banter are less frequent. At first you brush it off. Then
it becomes more pronounced. Eyebrows are raised mysteriously,
you are avoided and left out of events and decisions, sarcastic
comments are made. If you mention it you may find that your
mental health is questioned.
Close ranks
It is clear that what you said to one colleague or manager
has been passed on, and possibly distorted, to his or her
peers. When you approach a manager further up the line it
is clear that they have been forewarned. Your concern has
somehow created an anti-you group. You are identified as
a 'trouble-maker' by most people with any authority, and
any attempt to raise your concern is now preempted and prejudged.
Some of your colleagues feel that your complaint demeans
them by implication.
Stonewall
When you raise your concerns formally you find that your
letters are unanswered, the manager is never available, promises
to 'get back to you' are broken, you are passed on to someone
who eventually sends you a letter saying something like 'your
concern has been investigated, nothing is amiss, and the
matter is now closed'. You may be told directly not to send
any more memos or letters.
Biomedical diagnosis
It is suggested that you have been under a 'lot of stress
lately' and that you ought to visit the occupational health
department, a counsellor or your GP You are asked if you
are 'coping'. It emerges, unknown to you, that you have been
informally diagnosed as anxious, depressed, paranoid, having
a personality disorder, or as being 'neurotic', too old or
too fat.
Spying
A colleague is passing on information about you (and has,
perhaps, been asked to do so). You are the object of close
observation, fault-finding, and perhaps your mail is being
opened and your telephone bugged. Some of your work goes
wrong or astray and you wonder about sabotage. If you mention
this it is taken as further evidence that you are unable
to cope or 'paranoid'.
Grind down
Work becomes more difficult. Your workload increases, you
get the tough end of the rota, you are transferred to the
most difficult work area, demotion looks more probable than
promotion, you do not get your holidays when you want, you
are asked to share an office or move out of the one you have,
your phone line is put on 'internal calls only' or taken
away.
Sticks and carrots
An intermediary, usually a union official, will call you
aside for 'a chat' in which offers are made to you concerning
promotion, a generous severance package or some other benefit.
These will be linked in coded terminology with your concern
- the suggestion being that you drop it in return for the
benefit. Alternatively, or if you refuse to accept the carrot,
veiled threats will be made such as 'Are you sure you wouldn't
be happier working elsewhere?'. These become overt threats
such as 'You are jeopardizing your future' and 'You won't
be working here much longer'. If you raised concerns about
colleagues, such as their abuse of patients, you may find
that you receive hate mail and threats of violence.
Character assassination
Aspersions will be cast on your character, your personal
conduct, your personal past, your political views, your class
or ethnic origin, or your sexual orientation. These may progress
to accusations of abuse of clients, theft of documents, lying,
disloyalty, breach of confidentiality, and the like.
First strike
Official counter-complaints may be formulated against you
in a disciplinary hearing before your own concerns are addressed
or instead of addressing them. You may be made a scapegoat.
Disciplinary or grievance procedures may be used as a preemptive
or retaliatory measure. The authorities will attempt to get
their revenge in first.
Make redundant
Your
presence is no longer tolerable. You may be suspended and
then dismissed or there may be a reorganization in which
your post is made redundant. You will proceed to an industrial
tribunal. If you win you are paid a maximum of £11
000 - which the authorities consider cheap at the price.
Cosmetic reshuffle
If your concerns were of a serious nature, especially if
an inquiry took place, then there will be some changes at
your workplace of a cosmetic nature. Some posts may be reshuffled,
but it is unlikely that policies will be revised or that
managerial heads will roll. Certainly no acknowledgement
will be made that there is any connection between your raising
a concern and the changes which followed.
|
