Provider ordered to pay whistleblower £80k compensation

Elaine Fernandez won the case against Allied Healthcare Group, a provider of nursing services across the UK. The tribunal described Ms Fernandez as a “dedicated and hardworking” member of staff who was seen by Allied Healthcare as a “troublemaker” who threatened its commercial interests.

Since the ruling, the group has introduced a new governance model, whistleblowing regime and made a number of new senior appointments, including a medical director, a director of nursing and several regional heads of nursing.

Ms Fernandez began raising concerns about the safety of her patient in October 2011 with an email to Hywel Dda, a local health board in Wales that commissioned Allied to provide nursing services and had decided her patient should be cared for by healthcare assistants.

The confidential email, which argued that her patient could not be properly cared for by HCAs because they lacked the skills needed, was forwarded by the board to her managers at Allied Healthcare hours later.

She was threatened with disciplinary action the next day, according to the tribunal ruling. Ms Fernandez received several further warnings from her managers for continuing to note her concerns in her patient’s logbook.

The tribunal ruled that Ms Fernandez had been unfairly dismissed and had suffered “numerous detriments” as a result of her whistleblowing. Her “sole motive” for speaking out had been to “protect the safety and welfare” of her patient, it added.

Ms Fernandez said: “Whistleblowing is traumatic, but it’s not something you have a choice about.

A spokeswoman for Allied Healthcare said: “We have new systems to enable our colleagues to raise concerns of any kind, with new processes and protections that we believe are now the best in the sector. We are confident these will ensure this situation could not reoccur.

At RWK Goodman, we can advise employers in all aspects of dealing with claims of unfair dismissal and whilstleblowing allegations as well as helping them to introduce policies to encourage the correct channels of communication between employers and employees. For more information, please contact our specialist Employment & HR team.