Why are whistleblowers hated? Because they are traitors or because their actions shame those who stay silent?
There are 2 cases of whistleblowers discussed in the clip below: Boeing and 2 engineers in a nuclear plant. In the case of Boeing, 12 employees at Boeing knew that software in their 737 Max planes, built in a rush to beat Airbus had serious faults. They took their concerns up the chain of command but were ignored; they did whistleblow to their industry’s regulator, the FAA’s whistleblowing hotline, but they didn’t go public. After 2 Boeing planes crashed, as a result of the faulty software, into the ground at 600 miles an hour, killing all 346 passengers – those Boeing employees weren’t picked on or fired as they were seen to have done the right thing. They warned their employer and regulator of the faults and were proved right, but didn’t take their concerns public; they weren’t seen as treacherous.
The engineers at the nuclear plant were concerned that if the defective plant went online, there would be a nuclear disaster – millions of deaths. They took their concerns up the chain of command and were ignored; the same happened with the regulator, but then they then publicly whistle blew; they were fired and blacklisted so that neither of them could ever work in nuclear industries again.
Loyalty and obedience are seen as more important than saving human lives! Particularly with the NHS and the police in mind, we must change how we see whistleblowers. Seeing them as troublemakers is inaccurate and self-defeating – sure, an incompetent doctor may retaliate when a colleague questions their practice. However, their claims won’t stack up if adequately investigated. Instead, as the scandals in the NHS show, trusts choose the status quo, cover up the problem and persecute the whistleblower. Health professionals, including the management of NHS Trusts, first loyalty must be to their patients. Where this is not the case, they should be held to account. Where retaliation cases against whistleblowers are sent to professional bodies and found to be without foundation, there must be consequences. Whistleblowing takes courage, whistleblowers save lives. Perhaps those who have whistleblown in the past should be consulted about how future cases should be dealt with.
#Whistleblowers
