Barriers to expressing concern about inquiries into homicides by psychiatric patients

Patrick probably uses the term whistleblowing in a wider sense than just disclosures under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.1 She means having an open culture in the NHS about performance management.

I was a whistleblower in this wider sense when I produced a critique of my trust’s inquiry into the care of a patient who had committed homicide.2 3 Such inquiries can become destructive when deflecting blame becomes an over-riding factor at the expense of professional consequences for staff.4 There were injustices for staff in the trust action plan but the chair of the trust told me that it could not be changed. I therefore made it clear that I would go to the Strategic Health Authority (SHA), which had a responsibility to commission an independent report according to Department of Health guidance.

I eventually received a reply to my critique, to which I responded. Just before this, I was formally investigated about another matter and was told that I would face a disciplinary panel, but this never happened after I involved the National Clinical Assessment Service.

An independent SHA report was eventually produced,5 which I welcomed. I can’t say that the timing of the disciplinary matter was definitely related to my raising concerns about the trust report, but it did make it harder for me to follow through on my concerns.