Whistling in the wind? Constructions of whistleblowers in health and social care
| Pages | 14-22 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200100024 |
| Published date | 01 November 2001 |
| Date | 01 November 2001 |
| Author | Jill Manthorpe |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
14 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 3 Issue 4 • November 2001
The implementation of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
in July 1999 put onto the UK statute book a measure that has
long been the subject of public and professional interest.
However, the passing of this Act, often seen to legitimise the
activities of whistleblowers, should not be seen as signalling
universal approval for whistleblowing. This article explores
the construction of whistleblowing and the remaining
ambivalence about the activity by focusing on examples from
the provision of health and social care. It charts the
transformation of whistleblowing from an activity akin to
industrial sabotage or malevolently intentioned to an
individual act of heroism or martyrdom. It then sets out the
regulation of whistleblowing noting what is permitted and
approved and the ethical positions underlying this permission.
The key theme of trust is explored to develop the theoretical
perspective, and finally possible alternatives to whistleblowing
are advanced: ones that may be less dramatic than the
construction of heroes and less simplistic than quests for
organisational ‘bad apples’.
Constructing whistleblowing
Defining whistleblowing is a matter of clarifying boundaries.
Such boundaries may exist in terms of organisations, they may
be matters of loyalty and emotional investment with
colleagues or sub-groups within organisations (see
Manthorpe, 1996). The boundaries can encompass
professional codes or trade organisations. Whistleblowing is
Whistling in the wind?
Constructions of
whistleblowers in health
and social care Jill Manthorpe
Reader in Community Care
School of Community and Health Studies
University of Hull
key words
whistle-blowing
trust
adult protection
public interest
abstract
This article explores a number of
reported cases of whistleblowing.
While this activity is encouraged
and has been given certain
legislative protection, the costs of
whistleblowing evidently remain
high. The article concludes that
whistleblowing is unlikely to provide
a stand-alone protective framework
against abuse, corruption and
mistreatment because dynamics in
health and social care often mitigate
against criticism of powerful
personalities and systems.
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