JURI615: Article Review
1
For most, the term whistleblower is a negative connotation meaning muckraker, snitch,
rat, tattletale, mole, or leaker; even Microsoft uses those negative terms in its synonym search for
“whistleblower”Jacqueline Garrick & Martina Buck, THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACTS OF
WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIATION (2022). In actuality, a whistleblower is someone who reports waste,
fraud, abuse, corruption, or dangers to public health and safety to someone who is in the position
to rectify the wrongdoing What is a whistleblower, NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER CENTER (2021),
https://www.whistleblowers.org/what-is-a-whistleblower/ (Feb 24, 2024). When whistleblowers,
in this case, blow the whistle, they often face retaliation, harassment, or discrimination as their
organizations attempt to cover up or minimize the dangers involved and to protect the
organization or individual leaders from accountability or liability Jacqueline Garrick & Martina
Buck, THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACTS OF WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIATION (2022). Whistleblowing is a
yearly occurrence though there is no national news coverage; thousands of people blow the
whistle around the world each year on everything from bad accounting to tax fraud to pollution
to illegal wildlife trade What is a whistleblower, NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER CENTER (2021),
https://www.whistleblowers.org/what-is-a-whistleblower/ (Feb 24, 2024). We will be taking a
step back and discussing a first-hand encounter from a whistleblower himself in the healthcare
industry in England, develing into his experience that eventually left lasting scars on his personal
and professional life.
We need to take care of a few housekeeping cores, given that whistleblowing occurs in
England, and we might need to be more familiar with the English healthcare system and their
terminology. The National Health System (NHS) is a publicly funded system in England's
constitution as one of the four healthcare systems in the country. The article also touches on The
JURI615: Article Review
2
Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA). The Public Interest Disclosure Act is a law in the United
Kingdom that protects workers who report certain types of unethical behavior and in this case it
is called whistleblowing. Like the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA), a distant cousin in
America, the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) aims to encourage individuals to come
forward and disclose information regarding any form of unethical wrongdoing within workplace
organizations without the fear of retaliation.
Now that that is taken care of, let us begin. This article recaps the encounter of Peter
Duffy, an ex-NHS urological surgeon who became a whistleblower. The article went into the
details of the whistleblower encounter with NHS as an employee of the University Hospitals of
Morecambe Bay Trust (UHMBT). This issue started when a patient by the name of Peter Reid
died after a day's delay in changing his blocked, infected ureteral stent – a lapse that resulted in
overwhelming sepsis and admission, on day three Peter Duffy, NHS whistleblowing: The long
and winding road, 15 TRENDS IN UROLOGY & MEN’SHEALTH 25–27 (2023). On the fourth day,
the whistleblower arranged for an immediate ultrasound and an emergency theater that morning.
Unfortunately, the patient passed away due to the negligence of the hospital staff that could have
easily been prevented in early 2015, this prompted the surgeon to contact the Care Quality
Commission (CQC). Including the death of a patient, Peter thought the incident should have
been immediately listed for discussion and learning in (their) urology' morbidity and mortality'
meeting Id. Sadly, that was not the case until the summer of 2015 when the coroner formally
ordered departmental discussion that was later dismissed, and a meeting was later held that
excluded the department altogether, but most importantly, there was no departmental reflection
or change in attitudes Id.
JURI615: Article Review
3
The problem in the article in which the author identifies is the lack of initiative the NHS
took up to the Care Quality Commission, which eventually led to career-terminating
consequences. The regulators in this situation were insufficient regarding a practical
departmental inspection concerning clinical safety issues and having his identity concealed for
fear of retaliation. Within days, the author's earnings vanished, and a domino effect of
punishments and detriments began Id. This was the beginning of many retaliation tactics aimed
toward Peter; the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also provides a
category of actions considered retaliatory to employees who have made a protected disclosure
that align with the tactics used on Peter. Despite continuous promises from Peter's supervisors of
'we will protect you' and all the contemporary written promises of whistleblower protection from
the entire UHMBT board, the Trust's overall response was a textbook example of extreme
anti-whistleblower bullying, prejudice, and abuse Id. Throughout the years, the Whistleblower
Retaliation Checklist (WRC) can be implemented in the author's situation. WRC was created to
help employees identify the toxic retaliation tactics to better recognize and treat the psychosocial
impacts Jacqueline Garrick & Martina Buck, THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACTS OF WHISTLEBLOWER
RETALIATION (2022). After a year, the author had £35000 of salary missing, despite having been
successfully nominated by the front-line staff as the Trust's 'Doctor of the Year' Peter Duffy, NHS
whistleblowing: The long and winding road, 15 TRENDS IN UROLOGY & MEN’SHEALTH 25–27
(2023). This form of retaliation can be identified as devaluation of the employee when
performance ratings are unexpectedly lowered, promotions are missed, or training opportunities
are lost Jacqueline Garrick & Martina Buck, THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACTS OF WHISTLEBLOWER
RETALIATION (2022). Devaluation is often inconsistent with past performance appraisals and
JURI615: Article Review
4
ignores previous awards and recognitions in the author's case. Eventually, the retaliation, such as
devaluation and black-balling, led to the author's resignation and eventually months of
unemployment.
In England, similar to the United States, there are regulations designed to shield
whistleblowers from reprisal after reporting unethical conduct in a company.
The Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) was introduced in 1998 to protect whistleblowers
from such detriment and illegal dismissal Peter Duffy, NHS whistleblowing: The long and
winding road, 15 TRENDS IN UROLOGY & MEN’SHEALTH 25–27 (2023). The Act clearly states
that a worker has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by any act, or any deliberate
failure to act, by his employer on the ground that the worker has made a protected disclosure
Expert Participation, PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE ACT 1998 LEGISLATION.GOV.UK (1998),
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/23/section/2 (Feb 25, 2024). Like the United
Kingdom, the United States has the Whistleblower Protection Act that prohibits retaliation
against most executive branch employees when they blow the whistle on significant agency
wrongdoing or engage in protected conduct WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT,
https://whistleblower.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/whistleblower.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploa
ded/Whistleblower_Protection_Act_Fact_Sheet.pdf (Feb 25, 2024). Several groups of people
who fall under the protection of the Act, such as executive branch employees, former employees,
and applicants, fall within the WPA’s protections because they are part of the merit system that
governs the federal civil service under Title 5 of the U.S. Code Id. In this case, PIDA does not
protect whistleblowers so much as offer possible redress after reprisals Peter Duffy, NHS
whistleblowing: The long and winding road, 15 TRENDS IN UROLOGY & MEN’SHEALTH 25–27
JURI615: Article Review
5
(2023). Nevertheless, Peter successfully won his case for unfair dismissal and was awarded
compensation totaling £102 000.
Though the case was won, the retaliation did not stop there. Upon writing a book
regarding his experience, the author faced multiple investigations and attempts to undermine the
legitimacy of the work. In 2019, the author was faced with several
hundred pages of allegations and implications ranging from operating while drunk and
intravenous drug abuse (cocaine and amphetamines) through fraud to undermining democracy
and secular society that dragged on until 2021 by the General Medical Council Id. The NHS
eventually conducted its investigation, where the author was forcefully and repeatedly reassured
by NHS executives that there was nothing to worry about and certainly no intention to see (Peter)
imprisoned Id 26. The ongoing investigation took a toll on the author; from his recollection, he
was exhausted, deeply disturbed, chronically sleep-deprived, and disorientated from multiple
investigations Id 27. The psychological impact on whistleblowers has a detrimental impact on
employees’ physical, mental, and social health status as they are designed to stigmatize,
discredit, intimidate, and silence the whistleblower and are not only toxic to the individual but to
the organizational culture, co-workers, and the client base that the institution serves Jacqueline
Garrick & Martina Buck, THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACTS OF WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIATION (2022). The
trauma can insight PTSD as a result of moral injury that is caused when an event “shatters moral
and ethical expectations that are rooted in religious or spiritual beliefs, or culture-based,
organizational, and group-based rules about fairness, the value of life, and so forth Id 80.
JURI615: Article Review
6
The author’s concussion was primarily centered around the NHS management of Peter
Reid’s death attributed to hospital negligence. The author explores how the situation could have
been handled better to prevent similar issues such as this in the future. Nevertheless there was
only unresolved and disregarded to the concerns of Peter, that will negatively impact the
upcoming healthcare generation.Unfortunately, healthcare professionals fear speaking up and
reporting such unethical behavior due to the risk of retaliation. Moreover, the law intended to
safeguard these employees has yet to be proven sufficient to enforce the necessary protections.
The PIADA and WPA fail to protect these individuals who come forth and report allegations,this
will result in a decreasing number of people willingly confronting unethical behavior in the
workplace due to the fear of retaliation. One of the only solutions I can envision is amending
these laws to protect these individuals genuinely.
Permitting such action in the workplace creates an environment where employees no
longer feel comfortable reporting what they witness. This may lead them to ignore the issue that
an unhealthy workplace is often associated with absenteeism and lost productivity, sabotage, and
theft and, in the most extreme, can result in violence and death Id 91.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
