54000DOCTORS.org

1. Introduction and How this case affects you.

My name is Chris Day. I qualified as a doctor in 2009 and was on a formal career path to being a consultant. I am now over a year down a somewhat different road pursuing claims of whistle-blowing detriment in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT)  ...

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2. What is Whistle-blowing protection?

Whistle-blowing sounds more dramatic than it actually is. All it means in legal terms, is a worker giving relevant information to their employer about safety, fraud or cover up. Whistle-blowing law offers protection to workers from detrimental treatment or dismissal on account of making what is termed a “protected disclosure” ...

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3. Whistle-blowing laws – protection from your employer - unless you’re a Deanery doctor!

For some reason whistle-blowing law is only located within employment statute. This means it only provides protection from detriment carried out by employers. Attacking the employment status of a particular worker can be an excellent strategy for defending a whistle-blowing claim without having to go near the facts of the case ...

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4. Mr Hunt – Protecting student nurses but not doctors

On 19 November 2014, the Secretary of State for Health promised a “comprehensive response” regarding my whistleblowing case from his intended review of the NHS and Deanery formal investigations. On 8 December 2014, he then changed his position and proceeded to deny all legal responsibility for my whistle-blowing case and Health Education England relying on the Care Act 2014. He further states in his legal papers that he has “no knowledge of the facts in this matter and holds no documentation.” ...

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5. My whistle-blowing case

My case involves an Intensive Care Unit that at night routinely did not adhere to national staffing levels as defined in ICU Core Standards. The Trust has accepted that a protected disclosure about safety and staffing was made to it on the night of 10 January 2014 ...

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6. Four against one

Instead of fighting the case on the facts, the NHS, the Deanery/Health Education England and the Secretary of State for Health instructed 4 separate law firms against me. They argued that none of them could be held legally responsible for this situation or my future employment and an unfair dismissal claim was impossible ...

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7. Our Appeal

We recently won leave to appeal the Preliminary Hearing Judgment that agreed with HEE’s approach. If our appeal fails the Judgment will be binding on all future whistle-blowing cases. In other words, if we lose, Deanery doctors who can be experienced registrars close to being a consultant will not have their careers protected by the whistle-blowing laws that protect all other NHS staff ...

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8. The BMA

My Trade Union, the BMA, initially supported my case and their law firm, Gateley, were preparing proceedings against the Trust and Deanery. The BMA insisted that the NHS and Deanery carry out formal investigations. Suddenly, 5 working days before the claim had to be submitted and before the delayed Trust and Deanery formal investigations had reported, the BMA withdrew all legal help from the case and my BMA Senior Industrial Relations Officer went on “special leave”  ...

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9. Our Personal Request for Help

As a family with two young children, this situation has been a lot to take on. We take the view that what we have done is worthwhile, and if successful will benefit other doctors and patients; but it has come at a huge cost to us as a family. Raising concerns in the NHS and whistle-blowing litigation is not for the faint hearted ...

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