We’re supporting the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer’s Speak Up Week, starting today (Monday).
This annual initiative is a reminder of the importance of nurturing a healthy “speak up” culture, empowering staff at every level to voice concerns, knowing they’ll be listened to, respected and treated with compassion.
Whistleblowing is when someone providing a service for the NHS in Scotland speaks up – in the public interest – about something that has either happened, or not happened yet, that could cause a risk of harm or wrongdoing.
Explaining our speaking up commitment and vision, NHS Lanarkshire Whistleblowing Champion Lesley McDonald said: “Your voice matters and raising a concern can help keep patients, colleagues and services safe.
“Our commitment is to make you feel supported. We recognise that speaking up can be really difficult so we’re committed to making the process clear, accessible, respectful and, most importantly, completely confidential.
“Our vision is to demonstrate that speaking up makes a difference.
“Together we can create a culture where people feel safe raising concerns, and where we can evidence meaningful improvement as a result of those concerns.”
Reflecting our Culture Programme Board’s commitment to give clear leadership and momentum to creating a positive workplace culture, speaking up has increasingly become part of how NHS Lanarkshire listens, learns and gets better.
Improvements made to our Speak Up arrangements include:
- A dedicated Speak Up section on our website, bringing together clear information about the process and how staff can raise concerns.
- Publication of our first comprehensive Speak Up Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), developed with the help of people who had previously spoken up, investigators, Confidential Contacts and others involved in the process.
Nurse Director Trudi Marshall, our Executive Lead for Whistleblowing, is overseeing and supporting the effective delivery of our whistleblowing policy.
Trudi said: “We have moved beyond simply having a process. Experience and feedback are being used to improve how Speak Up works in practice.
“Feedback from people who have spoken up has helped shape the SOP and practical communications. Recommendations from investigations are tracked, with progress reported through quarterly and annual reporting so that learning is followed through to action.
“In 2025/26, 89 per cent of the nine Stage 1 cases closed during the year were within the target timescale. This rose to 100 per cent in quarter 1 of 2026/27.”
CASE STUDY
An important measure of an effective Speak Up process is not only whether a concern is investigated but also whether anything changes as a result.
A member of staff raised a concern about an operational problem that was affecting timely patient follow-up. The issue had previously been flagged through normal routes but had not been resolved.
Through the Speak Up process, the practical problem was identified, action was taken and the issue was resolved.
This is a deliberately simple example, but that is why it matters. It demonstrates that speaking up can identify something getting in the way of good patient care and help the organisation listen, respond and make a practical improvement.
For full details see the Speak Up section on our website.
