Dr Iona Collins, BMA Chair of Welsh Council, said:
“The workplace environment must be safe for both staff and patients. When safety concerns arise, the reporters must feel safe and protected to raise them and this framework should enable safe and effective reporting to take place.
“When effective reporting is not enabled, the healthcare service becomes less safe. Recent events show us the ultimate cost of ignoring concerns in the NHS.
“BMA Cymru Wales contributed towards this latest publication and we strongly advise all NHS Wales employers to implement this with immediate effect.
“The BMA continues to campaign for a change in the culture, from a culture of blame and suspicion, to a culture of encouraging reporting within the NHS.
“BMA Cymru Wales recommended that a senior independent representative should be on the executive board and we are glad that this has been implemented.
“We believe that the inclusion of an independent ‘speaking up safely’ senior board representative will hold members of the executive team to account and ensure a culture of raising concerns is upheld from the top down.
“The BMA will continue to stand by doctors who speak out and challenge threats to patient care”.
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