Case ref: 202411198
NHS Organisation: Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board
Subject: Staffing and workload
Outcome: Fully upheld
Date: March 2026
This is the report of the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer (INWO) on 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 public appendices, it is a full and fair summary of the investigation.
Executive summary
The complainants (Cs) complained to the INWO about Greater Glasgow and Clyde Board (the Board). The Board had carried out a whistleblowing investigation into their concerns under the National Whistleblowing Standards.
The complaint I have investigated is:
- The Board did not ensure there were appropriate staffing levels in the maternity unit at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) (upheld)
- The Board did not appropriately manage patient demand for the maternity unit at QEUH (upheld)
- The Board did not appropriately manage patient journeys through the QEUH maternity unit (upheld)
- The Board did not ensure there was appropriate out of hours support arrangements for staff in the maternity unit (upheld)
- The Board did not handle the whistleblowing concerns in line with the National Whistleblowing Standards (the Standards) (upheld)
In considering the Board’s compliance with the Standards, my investigation reviewed the Board’s own whistleblowing investigation, including the
recommendations it identified, how these were overseen and implemented, the governance arrangements in place, and how the Board provided updates to Cs throughout the process.
As a result of my findings, the Board have been asked to implement a number of recommendations and consider and reflect on other feedback, particularly in relation to compliance with the Standards.
My investigation also identified a number of areas of good practice by the Board, which has been included in my feedback.