Whatever the rights and wrongs of punishing NHS staff for mistakes (New law means future medical scandals could be missed, says NHS watchdog, 1 April), the government is ignoring a fundamental cause of the dreadful events described in the Ockenden report. Poor staffing can lead to problems such as a lack of listening and empathy, rudeness, mistakes and bullying.
Imagine you are constantly rushing between too many labouring women, or “ignoring” a new mother’s buzzer because another is in floods of tears, or trying to monitor several abnormal foetal heart rates simultaneously. Is it surprising that your stress means you don’t listen properly, are unintentionally abrupt, miss something vital and are bullied by your manager, who is also stressed and bullied by theirs? You will be too exhausted, demoralised and scared to blow the whistle.
