Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board

Case ref: 202106845

NHS Organisation: Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board

Subject: Speak up culture / detriment

Date: November 2024

This is the report of the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer’s (INWO’s) investigation of a whistleblowing complaint about the handling of a whistleblowing concern. It is published in terms of section 15(1) of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 which sets out the INWO’s role and powers. There is more information about this here: https://inwo.spso.org.uk/ 

Supported by the confidential appendices, it is a full and fair summary of the investigation.

Executive summary 

1. The complainant (C) complained to the INWO about NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (the Board) in relation to risks relating to a number of services within the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children campus.
2. I exercised my discretion to investigate the complaint without it having first exhausted the local process, given the history and wider context of the complaint.
3. The specific points of the complaint I investigated are:
   1. The Board has failed to create and maintain a culture that values and acts on concerns raised by staff (upheld)
   2. The Board failed to protect the whistleblower from detriment associated with speaking up (not upheld)
4. As a result of my findings, the Board have been asked to implement a number of recommendations and consider and reflect on other feedback.
5. My investigation identified areas of good practice by the Board, which have been included in my feedback.