40% of doctors think inquiries into NHS failings such as Mid Staffs will not have any positive impact on the way their hospital is run
- - A third of doctors admit to witnessing poor patient care, but did not report it
- - Less than half said concerns where addressed when they did report them
- - Two fifths of doctors had little or no confidence in recent NHS inquiries
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Four out of 10 doctors do not think inquiries into NHS failings - such as at Mid Staffs - will have a positive impact on the way their hospital works.
Almost half also remain fearful of the personal consequences of raising concerns about poor patient care, a poll of 800 hospital doctors for the Medical Protection Society found.
Around a third admit to having witnessed poor patient care that they did not report but now wish they had.
Four in ten doctors do not think that inquiries into NHS failings will have a positive impact on their hospital
When asked why they did not report the incident, 67 per cent worried that they would not be supported by management, 48 per cent worried they would not be supported by their colleagues and 49% feared raising concerns would have an impact on their career.
Of the 371 who raised concerns about a colleague, 47 per cent said their concerns were addressed.
But for the 178 who raised concerns about their organisation, only 18 per cent found their concerns were addressed and 43 per cent said nothing happened at all.
Two-fifths of all doctors surveyed have 'little or no confidence' that the recent inquiries into failings in healthcare will have a positive impact on the culture of their health trust.
And 65 per cent said imposing criminal sanctions on staff for wilful neglect would create a culture of fear.
Dr Stephanie Bown, director of policy and communications at the Medical Protection Society, said: "The Medical Protection Society has long argued that better care for patients in the NHS would come through creating the right culture; this cannot be achieved through legislation.
Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust was the subject of a damning inquiry into standards of care
'By creating a culture of openness and learning, we believe doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will not only be in a position to raise patient safety concerns with confidence that they will be supported, but they will also be in a position to drive continuous improvement in standards of care.
'Whilst introducing a new criminal offence for wilful neglect may seem like a strong measure, our survey of hospital doctors shows many believe it is more likely to create a greater climate of fear with the risk of less focus on patients, not more. This is not what the NHS needs.'
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