title: In the wake of hospital inquiries: impact on staff and safety.
abstract: Mishandled concerns about clinical standards resulted in whistleblowing in four Australian hospitals. Official inquiries followed with recommendations to improve patient safety. In the aftermath of the inquiries, common themes included loss of trust in management and among clinical colleagues, and loss of trust from patients and the community. Without first rebuilding trust, staff will not report mistakes or other concerns about safety. Successful implementation of patient safety procedures requires policies to stress the professional duty of staff to report concerns about colleagues when they believe there is a risk to patients.
authors.affiliation: Greater Green Triangle University Department of Rural Health, Flinders and Deakin Universities, Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia. director@greaterhealth.org.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.forename: Prasuna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Bill
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beresford
authors.forename: Wayne P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.forename: Reginald S A
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Lord
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000379:methods; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D017751:Safety Management; D035502:Trust; D035642:Whistleblowing