NHS whistleblowers need to be better protected by the law, says BMA

The NHS has become bogged down in blaming the individual instead of the mistake, Phil Banfield, chair of the BMA, has said. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

NHS whistleblowers need stronger legal protection to prevent hospitals using unfair disciplinary procedures to force out doctors who flag problems, the British Medical Association has said.

Doctors are being “actively vilified” for speaking out, which has resulted in threats to patient safety, including unnecessary deaths, according to the council chair of the doctors’ union, Phil Banfield.