Doctors have warned that a “culture of fear” in the NHS may prevent life-saving lessons being learned about Covid-19 after a leading hospital consultant emailed scores of staff saying those responsible for “leaks” would be found and fired.
“Communications like this instil fear and are toxic,” said Dr Jenny Vaughan, law and policy officer at Doctors Association UK, said. “When things go wrong we have to make sure lessons are learned, and we have to feel able to speak up. It is always important to support staff who have concerns about safety and not make them feel they are working in a culture of fear.”