NHS Managers need to listen and act on staff concerns promptly
In an article published in the HSJ, Dr John G. Richmond from the School of Medicine and Population Health discusses the case of Lucy Letby and offers a strategy to help NHS managers proactively identify and prevent unethical behaviour.
Dr Richmond proposes that the reporting of unethical behaviour by staff can be considered using a "time-based perspective", where managers should consider
- that it takes time to generate evidence for unethical behaviour
- that perceptions of unethical behaviour change over time
- it is most difficult to speak-up about unethical behaviour at the time it is most needed
Dr Richmond collaborated on the article with Dr Sarah Brooks from Sheffield University Management School, and John Blenkinsopp, Professor of Organisational Psychology, Oslo New University College and Northumbria University.