Does this fall under whistleblowing?

[HelloMiffy]

If someone in a care setting for very vulnerable people reports to management that they've witnessed/overheard a colleague being abusive to aforementioned vulnerable person?

Or is it just a complaint?

And if so, is it correct that the person reporting the abusive behaviour feels that they are the one being punished due to their working conditions being changed?

Thank you in advance

You are correct it's a complaint, not whistleblowing.

Whistleblowing takes it outside the company.

I don't work in your industry so I don't know the procedure. However it seems logical that the manager is the first point of escalation, but if they do nothing to prevent abuse of the vulnerable person, what is your next step?

In my industry we have a full whistleblower process, so an immediate option if the manager fails in their duty of care.

Thank you - I was a little confused over whistleblowing vs a complaint.

Oh well. I'll just have to work on being satisfied that I did the right thing both morally and for the vulnerable patient and ignore the fact I'm not being treated well now

I wouldn’t just accept this, I’d go further up the chain and complain. Don’t let them cover up abuse.

If you feel you are now being victimised for speaking up, now is the time to do some proper whistleblowing and report the matter to an outside agency.

I do feel this way, yeah.

I overheard a resident with severe dementia being verbally abused by a carer. I am not a carer but I happen to work alongside them. She was aggressive in tone, said horrible things, called the poor lady stupid and disgusting .

I reported this immediately to my manager, this happened on Sunday afternoon.

Upshot of this? The carer is still working away there and I'm the one who's been removed 'while we investigate' to work elsewhere. They 'feel that's best'

Of course the carer will deny it all. Without doubt. But I am 100% sure of what I heard. I was 3 foot away!

Added complication? I've been in my job - which I was really enjoying - for 7 weeks

And now I just feel like I've done something wrong by speaking up

Some organisations have an internal whistleblowing policy which allows you to raise concerns and be protected from adverse actions unless it can be shown you acted in bad faith. I'd ask for a copy of the complains/concerns policy and the grievance policy. It's not unusual for new staff to raise concerns about poor practice - they often shine a light on complacent and poor culture because they haven't been part of the slide in standards.

You're in a vulnerable position though so seek union support if you haven't already. Where I am carers need to be registered, is there a registering body you can approach about the original concern and their response to you?

Report it to the CQC.

Thank you @Jellycatspyjamas

I'm not a carer though so I don't have protection there I don't think? I merely witnessed / heard this appalling exchange 😞

And now I've clearly made myself a target

And the upshot of this all is - if it doesn't blow over - I'll be the one who has to leave won't I? As they'll
Make it difficult for me

@frogspawn15 didn't realise I could do that so I'll look into it

Clearly the upshot of all this will be that they identify a 'training issue' or something similar because there were no witnesses. Just me and she will deny deny deny

So she will have to be kept on won't she?

And I'm left feeling like I've done something wrong

You’ve not done anything wrong, though I get why it feels like you have. You don’t need to be a carer, I assume the care facility is registered so it’s them you’d be reporting. I know it’s hard but I’d also be thinking whether I could work in a place where vulnerable residents were abused and management turned a blind eye. The ideal would be that they dealt with the staff member and culture of the organisation but it doesn’t sound like they’re doing that so you might find, for your own wellbeing, another job might be better.

Speaking as an adult social worker who worked in safeguarding you have done thr right thing thank you for speaking up and not ignoring it. If the manager is not taking this seriously you need to contact either the cqc who will pass it onto the safeguarding team or contact the safeguarding team yourself. The manager has not adequately safeguarded the person.

Whistleblowing doesn’t have to be external reporting, you would usually have an internal policy in place which designates a couple of people you may report to in the first instance.

Whistleblowing is reporting an act (H&S, fraud etc) which is in the public interest. This definitely falls into that category (see Public Interest Disclosure Act). For example, if I were to place a family member in that setting it is in my interest to know that abuse is not tolerated.

A complaint would be something that is a personal grievance. You are reporting a breach of procedure, abuse of a vulnerable person - which is nothing to do with you.

It sounds like your employer is not adhering to accepted legal standards for whistleblowers, go to Protect (whistleblowing charity) for advice.