Nurses are resorting to whistleblowing channels to highlight staff shortages in Scotland’s biggest health board, as unions warn the national picture is “critical”.
The number of employee complaints investigated by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has doubled this year, figures show.
The majority of issues raised by whistleblowers that were either fully or partially upheld related to concerns about staffing levels.
New National Whistleblowing Standards were launched on April 1 last year, which require boards to publish the number of cases, performance information, and an overview of each complaint.
The health board said the higher volume of cases in the most recent quarter may be due to increased attention and awareness of procedures following the changes.
Whistleblowing should be a last resort
Figures show the health board investigated 29 whistleblower complaints from April 2021-2022, with 14 related to hospitals, nine designated “corporate” and two involving the prison service.
Six complaints about staff shortages were either partially upheld or upheld.
The report into one case, which was upheld fully, concludes that staff must receive appropriate breaks and time to attend “reflective practice sessions”.
NHS GGC said it has “robust processes” in place to monitor and manage staff levels.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the fact that staff were having to resort to the whistleblowing policy to raise concerns about safe staffing levels was “extremely worrying”.
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