‘Speak Out Safely’ At ERS Medical
ERS Medical is proud to be the first private ambulance organisation to support the Nursing Times’ Speak Out Safely (SOS) campaign that aims to encourage NHS organisations and independent healthcare providers to develop cultures that are honest and transparent. The campaign actively encourages staff to raise the alarm when they see poor practice which may affect patient safety, and to protect them when they do so.
The Nursing Times’ campaign would like to see the government introduce a statutory duty of candour compelling health professionals and managers to be open about care failings and undertake a wholesale review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act, to ensure whistleblowers who take concerns outside their organisation, if they are not taken seriously internally, are fully protected.
Lisa Pammen, Head of Clinical Services at ERS Medical said, “As an organisation we already work in a transparent and honest environment; we also have a detailed whistle-blowing policy in place and actively encourage all team members to communicate openly.”
“Supporting the SOS campaign gives our staff a clear message that we are committed to safe patient care and should anyone raise any concerns, they will be wholly supported.”
Our pledge:
This organisation supports the Nursing Times Speak Out Safely campaign. This means we encourage any staff member who has a genuine patient safety concern to raise this within the organisation at the earliest opportunity.
Patient safety is our prime concern and our staff are often best placed to identify where care may be falling below the standard our patients deserve. In order to ensure our high standards continue to be met, we want every member of our staff to feel able to raise concerns with their line manager, or another member of the management team. We want everyone in the organisation to feel able to highlight wrongdoing or poor practice when they see it and confident that their concerns will be addressed in a constructive way.
We promise that where staff identify a genuine patient safety concern, we shall not treat them with prejudice and they will not suffer any detriment to their career. Instead, we will support them, fully investigate and, if appropriate, act on their concern. We will also give them feedback about how we have responded to the issue they have raised, as soon as possible.
It is not disloyal to colleagues to raise concerns; it is a duty to our patients. Misconduct or malpractice should never be tolerated, while mistakes and poor practice may reveal a colleague needs more training or support, or that we need to change systems or processes. Your concerns will be dealt with in an open and supportive manner because we rely on you to ensure we deliver a safe service and ensure patient safety is not put at risk. We also want this organisation to have the confidence to admit to mistakes and to use them as learning opportunities.
Whether you are a permanent employee, an agency or temporary staff member, or a volunteer, please speak up when you feel something is wrong. We want you to be able to Speak Out Safely.
