Published 27 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4405
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4405

Feature

BMA view on whistleblowing

Mark Porter, chairman, BMA Consultants’ Committee

1 BMA, London

mporter@bma.org.uk

doi:10.1136/bmj.b4203doi:10.1136/bmj.b3202

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The question "What are doctors for?" has been considered in the BMJ on more than one occasion. The straightforward answer is that our fundamental responsibility is to provide care of the highest possible quality to our patients and do all we can to guarantee their safety—no matter what obligations we have to any other parties, including our employers.

The BMA’s guidance on whistleblowing recognises the huge courage that is often required to act as an advocate for patients.1 It also identifies raising concerns as a professional duty that needs to be fulfilled in a professional way. Internal mechanisms should be respected and adhered to from the start—we would not argue for the right of staff to bring personal vendettas to the media before employers have had an opportunity to deal with the concerns.

Some behaviour by senior managers is, however, unacceptable. A recent BMA survey showed the extent of the . . . [Full text of this article]


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