Freedom to Speak Up

Freedom to Speak Up fosters a positive culture where everyone feels empowered to speak up, knowing their voices will be heard and their concerns addressed without fear of retribution. Speaking up can involve anything that affects patient care or the working environment for colleagues, including learning from complaints, preventing potential harm, and suggesting improvements. It plays a vital role in enhancing care quality and benefiting colleagues, with professional obligations for some staff, such as doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals.

Staff and patients should feel safe and comfortable raising concerns, knowing their issues will be taken seriously and acted upon. Sir Robert Francis’ independent review of Freedom to Speak Up outlines principles and actions to ensure the right conditions for NHS staff to speak out.

Every organisation providing NHS services must appoint a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, who acts independently from the management chain. These Guardians ensure that speaking-up policies are implemented and that staff know who to contact when concerns arise. Primary care providers are encouraged to work together to achieve this.

The Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’s role is to support staff and patients who feel unable to speak up, offering impartial guidance and addressing barriers to speaking out. They collaborate with senior leadership to promote a culture that values speaking up, examine any obstacles, and ensure proper training is provided. Guardians are also responsible for producing regular reports to senior teams or boards, as needed.

If you have a concern, you can use the button below to contact the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian for the PCNs. The information you provide will be kept confidential unless required by law to be disclosed.

Contact the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian