Former NHS whistleblower Annie Norman shares her story for Speak Up Week 2024 after Highland campaign achieved national improvements
An NHS Highland nurse has shared her experience of whistleblowing as part of the Speak Up week run by the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer (INWO).
Speak Up Week is an initiative aimed at promoting a culture where individuals feel empowered to raise concerns and speak up about issues within the NHS in Scotland.
Many of the national safeguards now in place are the result of a determined campaign centred on Highland whistleblowers, which was supported by the local media.
However, despite that many people still feel that bullying remains “rife” inside NHS Highland though there is some acceptance that it is handled better than before.
The result was the 2019 Sturrock Report on bullying and harassment in NHS Highland, which led to significant improvements and was followed by legislation creating the role of INWO for NHS Scotland.
Annie Norman, a nurse working in NHS Highland with over 30 years of experience, raised two patient safety concerns in 2010 but her concerns were not addressed directly, were not handled with sensitivity and says that she was wrongly disciplined.
Those experiences and for those in a similar position are as relevant as ever as she was initially stopped from working and when she returned to work, she was moved to a different department.
The impact on her mental health was profound and led to nearly 40 GP appointments, sessions with various therapists and 15 months off work over a five-year period.
Ms Norman said: “My family life was held in limbo, I had teenage children at the time, I was struggling to keep my contract and I was in therapy.”
It took 10 years to resolve Annie's concerns. During that time, she had nine job redeployments, 40 occupational health appointments and 29 management meetings. She credits her recovery to the support from her family, her MSP, and the whistleblowing community.
Ms Norman now advocates for speaking up and gives talks to colleagues across NHS Highland with Julie McAndrew, a Speak Up Guardian and Confidential Contact.
When asked what managers need to do to make staff feel safe in speaking up, Ms Norman was clear: "Managers need to empathise with their staff, demonstrate their confidentiality and show that no matter is too small to talk about.”
Ms McAndrew echoed that saying: “Managers can incorporate speaking up into their day-to-day chats with staff, training sessions and briefing sessions… ensuring they know where they can go to raise concerns.”
Now she feels that NHS Highland has made significant improvements after a faltering start that saw the health board bombarded with criticism for not taking the issue seriously enough.
She said: “I feel that NHS Highland has made a terrific step forward in the last couple of years. It speaks volumes that we are able to record this interview today.”
Rosemary Agnew, Independent National Whistleblowing Officer said: "I am grateful to Annie for her courage and commitment in speaking up. I admire her openness in sharing her painful experience in such a public way.
“I am also encouraged by her positivity and that the work done by NHS Highland has created an environment where she felt able to speak.
“It is my hope that others will feel empowered to speak up and that NHS leaders and managers take notice of their instrumental role in creating a healthy speak up culture by listening, acting and supporting their workforce."
The INWO is the final stage of the process for those raising whistleblowing concerns about the NHS in Scotland and offers resources online for health boards and whistleblowers https://inwo.spso.org.uk/.
