Directors of North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) met at the Cumberland Infirmary on September 23, hearing the latest report from the Freedom to Speak-Up (FTSU) team.
NCIC runs West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle as well as a range of community care services across north Cumbria.
Staff of the trust can approach the ‘Freedom to Speak-Up Guardians’ with any concerns they may have about staff wellbeing and safety, bullying or harassment, patient safety or quality.
Jordanne White, Lead Freedom to Speak-Up Guardian. (Image: NCIC)
September’s report revealed that 49 new cases were opened during the first quarter of 2026/27, 16 of which were closed during the same quarter.
It was an increase on the 44 new cases seen in the final quarter of 2025/26.
However, the meeting heard that fewer concerns about staff behaviour were being escalated to senior executives.
Executive medical director Dr Adrian Clements noted that the team had regularly escalated concerns about the behaviour of medical staff to him in recent years.
He said this had not happened for some time and wanted to know if this could be taken as anecdotal evidence that behaviours have improved amongst medical staff.
Data on speak-ups raised in the NHS trust each quarter. (Image: NCIC)
Lead FTSU Guardian Jordanne White said that as far as she knows, “medical staff are behaving better.
“We consistently do a training session for our resident doctors, encouraging them to speak up within the appropriate routes because they are fresh eyes in each department.”
Dr Clements said that in addition to the work of the FTSU team, professional standards are being advocated to clinicians by leaders.
He said it was “encouraging” to hear that this work is having an impact.
Mrs White said: “In relation to the hotspots, community care has come-up as one of the hotspots, we are working alongside the appropriate line managers within that collaborative.”
She told directors the concerns being raised were within the remit of People Services and saw staff requiring help with Human Resources processes.
Chief operating officer Joanne Halliwell asked whether there were particular issues or suggested changes from the community care speak-ups that the executive team could address.
Directors were told the issues included reasonable adjustments, recruitment and staff behaviour but no specific changes have been identified by community care staff.
Mrs White said she would continue to monitor trends in FTSU data and report them back to the board.
The FTSU Guardian role was recommended by Sir Robert Francis KC in 2015.
It was the outcome of a review by Sir Robert, exploring how the NHS can foster a culture of open and honest reporting.
It aims to reduce barriers for NHS staff who want to raise concerns.