Back in May 1999, I and six other care workers blew the whistle on Isard House, a Bupa-run care home in Bromley, after witnessing shocking abuse of vulnerable older residents. We had seen people left in urine, physically assaulted and robbed by staff.
We were told to stay away while our concerns were investigated. In reality, we were isolated and forced out. We became known as the Bupa 7 and were among the first people to test Britain’s new whistleblowing law, the Public Interest Disclosure Act. It had arrived with a promise that public-interest disclosures would be protected. Our experience showed how thin that promise was.
