Some of the information we receive is shared with us by people who work (or who have worked) for health and social care organisations that are registered with us, or who provide services to those organisations (such as agencies).
It is important that people who work in health and care organisations feel they can speak to us about any issues that cause them concern and that our response will be prompt and appropriate. People can contact us through all of our communication channels. We describe the concerns we receive from them as ‘whistleblowing enquiries’.
When we receive an enquiry we consider the information carefully and prioritise which action to take according to the level of risk. The most serious enquiries, for example where there is a risk of harm to an individual, will trigger a safeguarding process that may include a referral, such as to the local authority. Other actions include carrying out an inspection, working jointly with other partners or taking enforcement action .There are some enquiries that remain completely anonymous and in these instances we may not be able to progress an action due to lack of information.
Total Enquiries April 2019 to March 2020
- Total Enquiries – 10,989
- Adult social care – 9,191 (83.6%)
- Hospitals – 1,496 (13.6%)
- Primary medical services - 281 (2.6%)
- Unspecified – 21 (0.2%)
On average 45% of the information shared is managed through our safeguarding procedures. The remaining contacts are managed through our regulatory processes as appropriate.