Andrew George MP Urges NHS to Protect Clinicians’ “Safe Space” for Raising Patient‑Safety Concerns 

At the Royal College of Anaesthetists’ President’s Annual Dinner, Andrew George MP used his address to urge NHS leaders to protect the vital “safe space” clinicians need to raise patient‑safety concerns without fear. Speaking alongside NHS Chair Dr Penny Dash, he warned that proposals affecting the Health Service Safety Investigation Body (HSSIB) risk undermining legally protected disclosure and could foster a culture where problems are hidden and patient safety is put at risk. 

Andrew said: 

“I pressed NHS chief – Dr Penny Dash – to ensure that clinicians have a “safe space” where they can raise concerns about patient safety. The last thing our NHS wants is a climate of fear where matters are bottled up, services become dysfunctional, a bullying culture is permitted to pervade, patient safety is put at risk, and then lengthy and expensive Inquiries need to be commissioned to deal with the shocking and distressing impact this then has on the lives of many people, not least patients and the frontline clinicians who have to endure working in such an environment. 

“It was an honour to be invited to be an after-dinner speaker at the Royal College of Anaesthetists’ President’s Annual Dinner, alongside NHS chair Dr Penny Dash. 

“However, one important organisation which Dr Penny Dash has recommended is subsumed into another is the Health Service Safety Investigation Body (HSSIB), which provides the very “safe space” in which clinicians at all levels can report/whistle blow concerns about poor practice and risks to patient safety in a Climate where, crucially, they have legal “protected disclosure”. This could easily be undermined by Dr Penny Dash’s proposals. 

“Therefore, without making my after-dinner speech too combative, I felt I managed to keep the message clear, good-humoured, but got the point over. 

“I was approached by many senior anaesthetists after the dinner who strongly agreed with that point (and indeed a number of other important issues smuggled into the light and I hope entertaining speech).”