1.1 The aim of this policy is to explain what Whistleblowing is and how it will be supported at Bluebird Care Isle of Wight. It will help you to understand how we respond to Whistleblowing incidents and it will describe colleague's roles in instating concerns to uphold safe, high-quality services

2.1 This policy applies to all employees of Bluebird Care Isle of Wight including those still in their probationary period.

3.1 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight aims to be the provider of choice, we will accomplish this aim by meeting the expectations of our customers, the families of customers, colleagues, and all other associated stakeholders. To achieve this, we must ensure our practices are safe, free from wrongdoing and uphold the well-being of all customers and colleagues. Through our Whistleblowing policy and procedures, colleagues understand how to come forward to report allegations and examples of malpractice they suspect or have witnessed, in the knowledge and assurance concerns will be dealt with in the utmost confidence. Where Whistleblowing has taken place, we will implement disciplinary procedures (where necessary), conduct thorough investigations and monitor our performance to introduce changes and improvements that will uphold the highest standards of safety and satisfaction.

4. Policy Statement 

4.1 This policy sets out the values, principles and procedures underpinning this care service’s approach to whistleblowing. (The care service can be either a care home or domiciliary care service.) Bluebird Care «Franchise» understands “whistleblowing” to refer to actions taken by colleagues to raise concerns about:

• alleged, suspected or observed malpractice
• assessed, identified or perceived risks (eg to the safety of people using services)
• unethical conduct or possible illegal acts.

4.2 Any of the above could harm, or create a risk of harm, to people using services, colleagues or the general public.

4.3 The policy is in line with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) recommendations for the reporting of concerns about people’s care and the safeguarding provisions under Regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

4.4 The right to whistleblow is also built into the practice of “Good Governance” as described in Regulation 17, which requires care providers to be transparent and open and comply with the Public Disclosure Act 1998 (and as amended under the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act (ERRA) 2013).

4.5 The policy also reflects the quality statements, as the CQC’s single assessment framework particularly:

4.5.1 Safe: Learning culture

• “We have a proactive and positive culture of safety based on openness and honesty, in which concerns about safety are listened to, safety events are investigated and reported thoroughly, and lessons are learned to continually identify and embed good practices.”

4.5.2 Well-led: Freedom to speak up

• “We foster a positive culture where people feel that they can speak up and that their voice will be heard.”

4.6 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight recognises that “whistleblowing” is distinct from a complaint in that “whistleblowers” raise their concerns as employees. Complaints about a service are raised by customers, others acting on their behalf or members of the public. However, it is recognised that similar procedures should be are followed to respond to complaints and whistleblowing

4.7 Whistleblowing Definition

• A whistleblower is a colleague who reports certain types of wrongdoing.
• This will usually be something they have seen at work - though not always.
• The wrongdoing that is disclosed must be in the public interest. This means it would affect others, e.g. a customer, of a member of  the public. 
• A whistleblower is protected by law and should not be treated unfairly or lose their job because they have ‘blown the whistle’.
• A colleague can raise their concern at any time about an incident that happened in the past, is happening now, or they believe will happen in the near future.

4.8 Principles

4.8.1 “Whistleblowing” principles can be summarised as follows:

• Bluebird Care Isle of Wight should be promoting open, transparent cultures, which encourage colleagues to act on and report any concerns about practices that fall below acceptable standards
• colleagues are the people most likely to observe and be in a position to report on bad practice
• colleagues, who raise genuine concerns about harmful practices, which they come across in their work (as described above) must be taken seriously and seen to be acting correctly
• they should not be regarded as “troublemakers” to be penalised in some way by their employing organisation
• Bluebird Care Isle of Wight should listen to and thoroughly investigate every concern raised by a colleague as they would if the matter was raised as a complaint by a customer or others acting on their behalf
• in line with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, Bluebird Care Isle of Wight must make sure that colleagues who raise, in good faith, reasonable concerns about unacceptable practices are not victimised as a result.
• Bluebird Care Isle of Wight applies these principles in its approach to whistleblowing policy and the procedures it expects its colleagues to follow

4.9 Duty of Care

4.9.1 At Bluebird Care Isle of Wight, all colleagues have a duty of care towards customers and colleagues alike. It is the responsibility of colleagues to remain vigilant of malpractice and report concerns without delay to effect timely and swift resolutions that will safeguard everyone in receipt of our services.

4.9.2 We understand reporting concerns can be daunting or difficult for colleagues; our Whistleblowing Policy is designed to make colleagues feel confident in coming forward and ex-pressing such concerns, enabling them to uphold their duty of care.

5. Procedures

5.1 Obligations on colleagues to report malpractice, unacceptable risks and wrongdoing

5.1.1 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight recognises that its colleagues have a duty of care, moral and legal obligations to report all incidents where they consider vulnerable adults or colleagues to have been harmed or are at serious risk of being injured or harmed in the course of their work.

5.1.2 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight considers that these obligations to report such incidents, which include suspected breaches of Bluebird CareIsle of Wight’s or other employees’ professional codes of conduct, override any other considerations such as loyalty to colleagues.

5.1.3 Any colleague who witnesses or suspects abuse or acts of harm by another colleague should report the matter without delay to their supervisor or manager. The manager will accept responsibility for the actions that follow and will assure the “whistleblower” that they have acted correctly by reporting the matter, will not be victimised and their confidentiality assured unless there are overriding, eg legal reasons for disclosing their identity.

5.1.4 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight accepts that there may be occasions when the colleague does not feel confident or able to report in the first instance to the manager. In these circumstances, it is recognised that the “whistleblower” might need to take their concerns to a more senior manager or the registered person.

5.1.5 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight also accepts the right and obligation of any colleague, who thinks that their concerns are not being or might not be properly responded to or addressed, to report their concerns to an outside authority. This could be the police, the local safeguarding adult’s authority or the CQC. 

5.1.6 Each of these organisations can be expected to respond in line their respective procedures. Again, in line with its Public Disclosure Interest Act responsibilities, Bluebird Care Isle of Wight will not penalise or victimise any colleague who responsibly reports their concerns in any of these ways.

5.2 Commitment to colleagues

5.2.1 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight assures its colleagues that their concerns about any possible mistreatment of the customers will be listened to and investigated.

5.2.2 Colleagues are encouraged to raise any concern directly or in writing. They are also entitled to make their representations accompanied by a friend or colleague or trade union representative as they decide and think fit. They might also wish to obtain witness statements.

5.2.3 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight undertakes to assess and investigate any concerns impartially, proportionately, and objectively, so that it can be fair to all parties concerned in seeking to clarify the facts before taking further actions.

5.2.4 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight’s management will keep any colleagues affected by an investigation aware of the actions being taken and the outcomes, considering the need to respect the possible confidentiality of some of the information relating to other colleagues and customers, which has developed in the process of the investigation.

5.2.5 Information will usually be treated with the utmost confidence. This might not be possible in all cases, e.g. if the alleged malpractice requires reporting to the police and/or the local safeguarding adult’s authority.

5.2.6 Colleagues are also made aware that all instances of alleged or actual abuse must be notified to the local safeguarding adults’ authority and to the CQC under its notification of serious incidents procedures.

5.3 Internal Disclosure – The Recommended Route

5.3.1 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight requests that, unless circumstances dictate that it would be unreasonable to do so, all disclosures are made internally, in the first instance. The disclosure may be made orally, or in writing, and should be made either to the colleague's Manager, or Supervisor. When making a disclosure, it is important that as much information as possible is given. Disclosure regarding anonymous individuals will be disregarded.

5.3.2 The person to whom the disclosure is made must take reasonable steps to:

• Establish that the disclosure is made in good faith;
• Investigate the details of the allegations to establish if they are substantially true;
• If necessary and appropriate, refer the matter to the relevant authority, e.g. the Police, external auditors, Health & Safety Executive;
• Report back to the person who made the initial allegation so that they are aware of the action being taken;
• Inform the reporter of the outcome of the investigation.
• Ensure the investigation does not exceed 28 working days or that, if it must, the person who made the allegations is aware of why If the employee feels that the disclosure to their manager/supervisor may not be appropriate, they should go to the level of management they believe is appropriate.

5.4 Making an external  disclosure  

5.4.1 Although Bluebird Care Isle of Wight. requests that disclosures are made internally, colleagues can make disclosures to a person or body which has been prescribed by the Secretary of State for receiving disclosures about the matters concerned. If a colleague makes a qualifying disclosure to such persons, it will be a protected disclosure provided the employee:

• Makes the disclosure in good faith;
• Reasonably believes that the information, and any allegation it contains, are substantially true;
• Reasonably believes that the matter falls within the description of matters for which the person or body has been prescribed (for example, breaches of health and safety regulations can be brought to the attention of the Health and Safety Executive or appropriate local authority, or care related concerns can be notified to the CQC) 

5.5 Investigating and dealing with allegations

5.5.1 The manager to whom abuse by a colleague is reported will take the necessary steps under its safeguarding policy. In addition, the manager will if possible, protect the source of the information.

5.5.2 If a manager fails to act promptly, suppresses evidence, or is involved in any action to discourage whistleblowing, they will be liable to disciplinary action.

5.5.3 Where the whistleblower has gone directly to the CQC or local safeguarding authority to report their concerns, Bluebird Care «Franchise» will always co-operate fully with any resulting enquires and investigations and take all necessary actions from the outcomes.

5.6 Dealing with interference with or victimisation of “whistleblowing” colleagues

5.6.1 Any colleague who attempts to prevent a colleague from reporting their concerns to a manager or who bullies, attempts to intimidate, or discriminates against a colleague in these circumstances will be dealt with under disciplinary proceedings.

5.6.2 A whistleblower who feels themselves to be subject to hostile action from colleagues should inform their manager, who should if necessary, take steps to alter the colleague’s duties so as to protect them from the hostile action.

5.6.3 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight provides colleagues with information on how to contact Protect (formerly Public Concern at Work), an organisation that has been established to protect whistleblowers from victimisation and bullying.

5.7 Unjustified reporting

5.7.1 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight’s managers take reports from whistleblowers seriously and investigate all allegations thoroughly. Any allegations against colleagues, however, which are found to be unwarranted or malicious, may render the person who made them liable to disciplinary action.

5.8 Information

5.8.1 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight provides colleagues with the following information, which they may need to help raise a concern in confidence.

• Whistleblowing Helpline for NHS and Social Care Colleagues: Tel. 08000 724 725; email: enquiries@wbhelpline.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
• How to contact the CQC: Tel. 03000 616161; email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
• Local Safeguarding Authority/Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH): «EI04safety»
• Care Quality Commission leaflet Raising a Concern with CQC available at www.cqc.org.uk.(link is external)
• Protect (link is external)(formerly Public Concern at Work) for advice and guidance on ways forward.

6.1 Bluebird Care Isle of Wight will provide all colleagues with training on the legislative aspects of whistleblowing, including information on ‘qualifying disclosures,’ and ‘public interest’ instances in order that they are able to distinguish between personal grievances and whistleblowing scenarios. A range of correlating policies will be referred to during whistleblowing training to support employees in recognising specific procedures for raising concerns regarding children and adults at risk. Professional boundaries will be discussed during training so that employees are clear about behaviors requiring reporting.

6.2 Training should highlight public inquiries into failings in the care industry, recommendations made from those inquiries and include information on whistleblowing law reform to avoid doubt e.g. the abolition of ‘good faith’ element in the Public Interest Disclosure Act and the introduction of personal and vicarious liability. Additionally, employees should be advised of whistleblowing helplines by region.

7.1 This policy will be reviewed on a minimal 2 yearly basis, or as and when required. 

8.1 The following are regulation and legislation that are directly applicable to this policy:

•  SD59(1) Whistleblowing Policy Poster.pdf
• The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014- Regulation 13- Safeguarding
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998

Care Quality Commission

Key Questions, Quality Statements and I Statements

• Whistleblowing; Guidance for Employers and Code of Practice (March 2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/whistleblowing-guidance-and-code-of-practice-for-employers(link is external)
• Whistleblowing; List of prescribed people and bodies (August 2018) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blowing-the-whistle-list-of-prescribed-people-and-bodies--2/whistleblowing-list-of-prescribed-people-and-bodies(link is external) 
• The Code of Practice for effective whistleblowing arrangements published by The Whistleblowing Commission (established in 2013 by the whistleblowing charity, Public Concern at Work)
• Whistleblowing in the Public Sector: A good practice guide for workers and employers (2014) issued by the four public audit agencies of the UK.
• CQC- Guidance for Providers- Whistleblowing- https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/20131107_100495_v5_00_whistleblowing_guidance_for_providers_registered_with_cqc.pdf(link is external)