Doctors ‘more frightened than ever’ to speak up about patient safety

A rising proportion of doctors will not blow the whistle over patient safety concerns for fear of retribution, leading medics said.

The British Medical Association (BMA) surveyed doctors from around the UK in 2018 and again in 2024.

A rising proportion said they would not feel confident raising concerns about patient care – 26% of 1,578 doctors in 2024 compared with 10% of around 7,900 doctors surveyed in 2018.

Three in five (61%) of those polled in 2024 said they may not raise concerns because they were “afraid” they or colleagues could be “unfairly blamed or suffer adverse consequences”.

Meanwhile 45% said they feel that their managers discourage them from raising concerns – up from 20% cent in 2018.

The BMA said that doctors are now “more frightened than ever” to speak up when they see patient safety issues, or levels of care at risk.

Professor Philip Banfield, chairman of council at the BMA, is set to highlight a culture of “protectionism rather than accountability”.

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Source: The Independent, 23 June 2024