Freedom to speak up

Speak up – we will listen

Here at St George’s we believe that speaking up about concerns our staff have is vital. We want our staff to feel supported at work and ultimately ensure that we as a Trust are providing excellent care to our patients and their families.

We are committed to an open and honest culture at this Trust and will ensure that the concerns of our staff are looked into and that they are offered and have access to the support they need.


Examples of concerns   

Staff can raise concerns about risk, malpractice or wrongdoing that they think is harming the service such as:

  • Unsafe patient care
  • Unsafe working conditions
  • Inadequate induction or training for staff
  • Lack of, or poor response to a reported patient safety incident
  • Suspicions of fraud (which can also be reported to our local counter fraud team)
  • A bullying culture

Feeling safe when raising concerns 

It’s important to emphasise that staff will not be penalised for raising concerns; they will not lose their job or suffer any form of reprisal. We will not tolerate the harassment or bullying of anyone raising a concern.  Nor, will we tolerate any attempt to bully anyone into not raising a concern.  Any such behaviour is a breach of our values and, if upheld following investigation, could result in disciplinary action.


Raising concerns confidentiality or anonymously 

Staff are able to raise their concern confidentially (which means that only the person to whom the concern is raised will know their name) or anonymously, without giving anyone their name.


Freedom to Speak up Guardian

Our Freedom to speak up Guardian is Karyn Richards-Wright. The Guardian role means that in addition to other identified ways to raise concerns, staff have access to an independent and impartial source of advice at any stage of raising a concern. Staff will be offered the necessary guidance and support and kept updated as to what is happening with their concern. Members of staff can contact Karyn by phone on 020 8725 4001, by mobile on 07775 020247, or by email on karyn.richards-wright@stgeorges.nhs.uk