Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Scottywildcat — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 14:05:14 GMT

Im puzzled as to why the nurse doesnt seem to think she's done anything wrong and yet the mistakes she has made have been bad enough for her to have a serious complaint made against her, that just doesnt make sense in my mind? How could she not see the mistakes she's made, especially if she's constantly had them pointed out to her? Has anyone ever shown her the right way to do the things she's getting wrong? How much training did she receive when she first started working at the hospital? Im sure even though she's qualified she still lacks practical experience in a lot of things. This thread actually reminds me a bit of a position I was in with a practice I worked in, they had no RVNS there, just another VCA and we were expected to do many of the duties of a RVN. First few months I was working there I made a ton of mistakes as I was doing things Id had no experience of in practice before ( like drawing up drugs for example ) and they gave me about 2 weeks training. Every time I made a mistake I was hauled up in front of HR and grilled as to why, it was a horrible experience, totally confidence wrecking and actually led to me making even more mistakes as I started to lose belief in myself and felt like everyone was just waiting for me to muck up on a daily basis. Perhaps the same thing is happening with this nurse? Maybe her stating she's not doing anything wrong is a defence mechanism as she feels she's being victimised? Or maybe she is just young, arrogant as hell and closed minded, which is indeed a dangerous way to be.

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Sal the 1st — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:32:37 GMT

ok - so what measures have been put in place to ensure safety for everybody? If there are serious concerns over safety then something should have been put in place which is a bit more than extra training. A mistake however made if serious enough is going to impact on the whole practice reputation.

[quote user="Charmaloo88"]

Ah...the problem is the nurse in question does not think they did anything wrong!!

[/quote]

but has anybody explained why it is wrong - not just that it is wrong.

I have come across a number of people over the years who will stick rigidly to something because 'thats what they taught us at college' (one in particular if I had heard that phrase just once more I would have ended up doing time) - when what was taught them at college, if that was true, was at best dubious or maybe they just put their own interpretation on what was taught them at college? If you have one of those people I can commiserate but if that is the case get them to back up why they are doing something a certain way by producing evidence - in the meantime make sure there are plenty of SOPs for the practice in place and make sure they use them.

You could always refer this back to HO? failing that then the only other recourse would be the RCVS

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Charmaloo88 — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 07:25:24 GMT

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]

I hope everything works out for you. Sorry for all the questions - I know I ask a lot but it just helps me to understand a situation without going into too much detail.Actually the most important question I left off but I hope HO have considered it? and that question is - what measures have been put in place to ensure patient safety? It can't be easy for anybody - I would imagine the nurse in question can't be that happy either knowing that everybody is watching like a hawk. I do wonder if HO have perhaps set them up for a fail and using the rest of the staff to do the dirty work for them rather than dismissal? wouldnt be the first time I have come across it and certainly wont be the last

[/quote]

Ah...the problem is the nurse in question does not think they did anything wrong!! Despite a lot of people saying they need to be cautious of their actions they just don't understand how dangerous they are. I would put it down to extreme ignorance I guess, I would never say they make mistakes intentionally to cause harm because I genuinely do not think that is the case.
Wouldn't surprise me either if HO have done something like that, I can't say I'm particularly fond of them for many reasons!

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

melanie lavender — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 13:24:31 GMT

If you feel strongly about what this nurse has done and you think they may be a threat to the profession, other nurses, other nurses statuses, members of the public and most importantly of all the animals they are in change of i would write a letter regarding your concerns to the RCVS and leave it up to them to investigate and decide an out come.

Good luck.

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Fay Cavanagh — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 11:45:37 GMT

This post reminds me of a situation I was in. I was the one making the mistakes at work. None serious but as very normally confident RVN I couldn't understand why I had the same problem time and time again. I had a lot of problems outside of work, thus began to effect me inside work. I had minimal additional support from other staff but had monthly reviews which always left me feeling deflated and incompetent at my job. There was always another 'problem'. Needless to say I lost my job in the end, being told that I was not worthy of my RVN status has left me with dented confidence despite being in a better more supportive environment and not making mistakes like I was. I have worked hard to put things right but at the time felt my every move was being watched as more staff began to distrust me. I hope I would be able to give someone the support they needed in their time of need, but ultimately they need to accept they have made a mistake and work hard to rectify things. Unfortunately you may never 100% trust this person again.

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Sal the 1st — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 11:02:02 GMT

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Charmaloo88 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 09:29:40 GMT

And Sal...you've asked a lot of important questions which I'm afraid don't seem to have positive answers. 'Additional training' seems a blanket term and due to staffing issues there is no one to oversee this persons work. I've been told regular reviews will be in place but yet to see them. I've tried training them and usually I have the patience of a saint...but this individual has absolutely zero concept of how their actions are affecting patients. Even after the whole investigation they could not see their own mistakes.

The whole situation just seems to have been handled terribly from start to finish...

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Charmaloo88 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 09:23:35 GMT

Think I'm best off speaking to BVNA so I can go into detail, thanks for the suggestion I didn't think of that!

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Sal the 1st — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 01:45:20 GMT

[quote user="Charmaloo88"]

I'm afraid I'm going to keep this quite vague, but something is not sitting right and I'm after some advice about where to go next.

In a nutshell an RVN at a practice I work at had a serious, formal complaint issued against them by other staff members. The nurse in question I've never trusted, I believe they mean well but make too many small silly mistakes that add up and are detrimental to patients. The complaint was taken out of the practice and investigated by head office which took months, they were given the opportunity to walk away from the job and keep their RVN status but refused, believing they had done nothing wrong and could not see just how serious their actions were (again, apologies for being vague, I can PM more details if anyone thinks they can help!)

Everyone was pretty sure the nurse would be sacked and maybe even stripped of RVN status. Instead they've been kept on for additional training, despite having worked for nearly a year in the hospital and qualified 2+ years. This decision was made by head office, and those who made the decision do not have veterinary experience.

I'm genuinely concerned about this nurse continuing to work in the profession, along with many other people in the practice but everyone just grumbles about it behind their back. Should I be the whistleblower and take it to the RCVS? Or trust that additional training is going to prevent further negligence?

[/quote]

does the additional training mean that there are mentor or mentors/support around to keep an eye on things now?or has this nurse been left to their own devices ?

Have there been any more slip ups since the additional training started?

Has anybody noticed a definite improvement ?ie is the lack of trust based on past occurences or are the problems still happening?

Is there a continuous review in place?

how would you feel about offering your services as a mentor ?

If there are many other people in the practice sharing the same concerns would a statement signed by all concerned staff sent to head office make a difference?

[quote user="Charmaloo88"]

they were given the opportunity to walk away from the job and keep their RVN status

[/quote]

this bit I really don't like - it's threatening behaviour the lawyers could have a field day, either your nurse is competent or they aren't, its not possible to have it both ways ( is it that they just don't fit in?)or is it somebody just hoping to pass their problem onto somebody else with no comeback and no involvement.

Only you can decide if you want to do the speaking out bit, I don't envy you that decision

RE: Whistleblowing...is it such a good idea??

Alisha Gorman — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 23:09:53 GMT

This will ultimately depend on the "little mistakes" being made and the nature of the mistakes. If the mistakes are small ones that have been corrected and not done again then maybe there should be some leniency due to the time they have been qualified. However if these are the same mistakes again and again then something should be done.

From the sounds of your post, this person has made enough mistakes for it to be picked up by other staff members, which does sound more than small slip ups. These sorts of situations can be very difficult, and without knowing the context it can be hard to pass judgement on them. Is there anyone else in the practice who you could trust to go to with these issues without escalation? If not, then have you considered contacting the BVNA for formal advice if you do not feel you want to go directly to RCVS and make this official. This way it could be anonymous whilst also getting opinions from those who deal with situations like this regularly.

As someone who was in a similar position but chose not to speak out because the staff member was more senior, and I was a 'mere' student at the time, I can say I truly regret not taking it further (although it's only now that I'm and RVN can I see how I was wrong). I should add the infractions this staff member did were more than minor error for a senior member of staff.

These sorts of situations need to be handled delicately, and ideally should be taken up further internally, but in this situation it sounds like there is a failing on the practices end, and if you feel these incidences are serious enough then it would be best to take it somewhere higher.