Liverpool NHS scandal shows how culture of denial harms patients

If staff do not feel able to speak out about their concerns, something is rotten at an organisation’s core

The two most shocking revelations to emerge from the investigation into Liverpool community health NHS trust are that every part of the system failed, and it happened even as the trust was considering what it should learn from the Mid Staffordshire scandal.

The independent review by Dr Bill Kirkup into events at the trust between 2010 and 2014 shows the root cause of the trust’s problems was an inexperienced and bullying leadership obsessed with achieving foundation trust status, irrespective of the effect on patients. This toxic culture seeped into every part of the organisation, breaking the morale of frontline staff and inflicting serious clinical harm.

There was a climate of fear, intolerance, disbelief and insecurity

Related: A royal commission is not the way to solve the problems facing the NHS | Richard Vize

Continue reading... February 10, 2018 at 02:45PM