7 January 2016
Commenting on the appointment of Dame Eileen Sills DBE as the first National Guardian for speaking up safely within the NHS, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor, said:
Our casework shows that the NHS still has a long way to go to create an open and transparent culture. Our recent report on the quality of NHS investigations into avoidable death and harm revealed that distraught families are being met with a wall of silence when they seek answers as to why their loved one died or was harmed.
'This new role will help create the culture change the NHS so desperately needs. It is vital that staff are empowered to speak up so that the NHS learns from mistakes.'