Written question WQ89000

It is essential to enable people who work within the NHS in Wales to speak up about issues they encounter within the NHS with confidence knowing their concerns will be taken seriously, heard fairly and that that they will not face personal repercussions for raising concerns. Confidence to report poor behaviours or unfair treatment is key to our quality and safety systems supporting the statutory duty of quality and duty of candour for delivery of services to patients. It is also critical to the retention and wellbeing of our workforce and underpins our equality and inclusion work.

The Welsh Partnership Forum (WPF) have been working on a new policy for some time based on experience of other systems across the UK including examining the independent evaluation of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardians model in England.

As a result, a Speaking up Safely Framework has been drawn up in social partnership through a working group commissioned by the WPF in response to a call for a consistency of outcome and governance arrangements in speaking up safely across NHS Wales organisations. The Framework will support NHS organisations to develop and improve speaking up safely culture and aims to provide an all-Wales consistency of cultural expectation, approach and escalation process whilst also allowing local initiatives to continue.

Following the verdict of the Lucy Letby case, and the subsequent scrutiny of the speaking up culture and processes in NHS England, a joint letter from Judith Paget, Chris Jones DCMO, Sue Tranka CNO and Helen Arthur Director of Workforce was issued to all NHS Wales Chief Executives which included the Speaking up Safely Framework. The letter was based on discussions that took place at the NHS Leadership Board and Executive Directors Board following the Letby verdict. It was agreed that, in advance of more formal review and Inquiry, organisations should take stock that the mechanisms that we have in place to support quality and safety governance are robust and well implemented across our organisations. The letter set out organisational requirements the requirements as outlined in Section 6 of the Framework asking for a written response/action plan against the organisational requirements. This response will be the first step in an ongoing dialogue with the Chief Executives about their confidence in their speaking up culture and processes.

I will shortly be publishing the Framework with a Written Ministerial Statement.