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Many nurses believe the NHS has a culture that discourages staff from raising concerns about patient care, a survey suggests.

Almost 30% of 800 nurses in the UK polled by Nursing Times magazine said being seen as a troublemaker was the biggest barrier to them speaking out.

Inaction by managers was cited as a barrier by 23%.

The government said it had taken measures to support whistle-blowers and was considering further action.

The survey was sent out to the magazine’s database of nurses and conducted online.

Some 84% of respondents to the poll said they had raised concerns about a colleague’s practice or attitude.

A total of 23% of the nurses said they had done so “several times” or “regularly”, and 23% “at least once”.

But of those who had raised concerns, 52% said there had been no appropriate outcome after they had spoken out and a similar percentage said they had faced negative consequences as a result of doing so.

BBC News

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