Whistle in the Wind: Life, death, detriment and dismissal in the NHS. A whistleblower's story Paperback – July 24, 2019

Having worked in NHS and now USA, it’s not that different here especially with colossal amounts of money involved. Managers are often self serving and the least important is truth/patient safety

Peter Duffy is one of those good men who certainly did not fail to act in the face of patient safety. His whole motivation was one of looking after patients even at the expense of his own health and freedom. I first bought the book for my kindle and read it within two days. I then bought a paper copy as well which I have given to a nurse at the hospital to read and share. As a current cancer patient at Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) I was particularly keen to read this book. The question I have in my head throughout the book, was why didn't the management team take on board what he was saying about patient safety rather than trying to punish him for speaking out (whistle blowing). The primary motto of the Heysham power stations that reside not far away from the hospital is "Safety First". Surely this should be the motto of the Trust as well. "Trust" an ironic word to give it. So Mr Duffy is forced from his job for his racism, which he successfully disputed at a recent Industrial Tribunal and won. He was awarded one of the largest payouts a tribunal can make. This book should be read by everyone who is concerned about the NHS. It should be read by all the staff who work within the UHMBT who I believe have been told by management not to share the link to the book on social media, and by all medical students. Whistle Blowing should be actively encouraged within the NHS. It should be investigated properly and not swept under the carpet. If there are issues with staff they should be performance managed and not left to drift because management have bigger issues to deal with. There can be no bigger and more important issue than patient safety. We all owe a deep sense of gratitude to Peter Duffy for writing this book and for the pain and exile that have been experienced by him and his family. He has paid a dear price for his openness and honesty and sense of integrity. We need more medics in the NHS like Peter, not less. Thank you for writing this book. A must read for everyone !

‘Tell the truth and shame the devil’As a retired NHS consultant who, in my last three years, was director of my department, I would have expected consultant urologist Peter Duffy’s career to be an inspiring ‘Log Cabin to White House’ story. Instead, much of his remarkable autobiography documents the failure of the health authority management to address multiple, serious systemic failures which he repeatedly pointed out that led to ‘near misses’, a well-documented avoidable death and a tragic life-changing outcome in a teenager. Peter Duffy’s health authority seems to have been like a dysfunctional family. This is despite: (1) the Clinical Human Factors Group set up in 2007 by airline pilot, Martin Bromiley after his young wife’s avoidable death (NB: NOT this health authority) to address such concerns which became one of the topics in at least one B.Nurs. course (2) the work of Professors Emeritus James Reason and Charles Vincent on medical error. At times I had to put down this unputdownable book and reflect on the times when hospital administrators, after a reproach for ‘shroud waving’, would try to find the fairest solution for all departments - as in families with the inevitable sibling rivalries.But I also recall times during my career where the focus was on discrimination and not the real problem. Example: after I’d stood enough of the constant loud wisecracks from a non-Caucasian student which were disrupting my lectures, I finally said: ‘I don’t care what colour your skin is. I don’t like your behaviour and it’s not doing you any favours either.’ Effective managers confront the misuse by either side in a dispute of ‘isms’ like race, sex, social class, Body Mass Index, etc and address the real problem of the person’s or organisation’s conduct.The book’s publication and the number of 5* reviews it has attracted already may be why his former health authority has now offered to meet him for discussions. Reviewer ‘Win’, under the title ‘If only they had listened’, comments: ‘Hopefully this may change things but I’m not holding my breath.’ Neither am I but I cannot recommend this brave and honest book more highly.

It is a very distressing and sad read but also very important one. It was an eye opener for me. As a former colleague of Me Duffy I was never aware of the scale of abuse he experienced while working at UHMB. I always saw an excellent clinician, always smiling, very polite and very respectful to everyone. I never knew what he was going through at the time...His book is an incredibly important voice in raising awareness of what is really like to raise concerns as an NHS worker. I hope this book will help to bring positive change to the toxic culture of cover-ups and frankly low standards of care throughout NHS Trusts. It is well written book, I could not put it down. I see Mr Duffy as possible future author of books to come.Mr Duffy does not work for UHMB anymore. He was forced out of the Trust. We lost superb clinician and incredible human being, who set the standards very high. Obviously, too high for the level of the management..

In fact, it is a must read by everybody living in the UK.It is a glaring witness statement of how NHS managerial class created by the government hijacked NHS and runs it for own benefit, prosecuting everyone who dares to speak up about their wrongdoings, using endless pocket of taxpayers money allocated for patient care, to pay for covering up what NHS managers done.Something must be done about it,but who will do it.. when government regulators are not doing their job, giving NHS managerial class a free hand to witch-hunt doctors?You just can't stop reading, it is like a thriller.

A good insight into one man's struggle to uphold a good standard of care within the NHS. The story of the continuous struggle for Mr Duffy and the lack of support to those who decide, enough is enough!