Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, National Guardian for the NHS, said:
“My thoughts are with all those affected by the failings at North East Ambulance Service.
Today’s findings from the independent review, along with our recent Speak Up Review of all NHS Ambulance Trusts, show there is still much to do to embed a Speak Up culture across ambulance services.
It is unacceptable that anyone should experience bullying as a result of speaking up and doing the right thing. Workers should be thanked for speaking up and their managers and leaders must listen and act upon matters raised.
We must all learn from the reviews findings; managers, leaders and boards need to take speaking up seriously. I would like to see a shift from a position of ‘comfort seeking’ to ‘problem sensing’, where leaders and boards are curious about the information that is presented to them and keen to embrace the learning.”