The latest whistle-blower victory comes in the form of Dr Chris Day's successful challenge to Health Education England , but at what cost, and what has been learned that was not known already?
The questions that need to be asked are about the role of the Hospital and Health Education England (the clue here is in the name!) in failing to act responsibly in the patients' and staff's interesst and why the other staff who knew didn't speak out.
The ongoing practice, and it is ongoing, of forensically investigating the whistle-blower and ignoring the issues raised by them must stop. The cost is not only mental, physical and economic on the whistle-blower but on the whole of the NHS. A service that is publicly funded and screaming for funds to prevent cuts to front line services is surely immoral when it spends hundreds of thousands on litigation defending NHS victimisation of whistle-blowers.
Witnesses to wrongdoing, including MPs and other professionals and colleagues, have a role to play in breaking the cycle of retribution against those who break ranks and speak out.
The most powerful story here is that Dr Day was largely on his own bearing the brunt of professional and personal ruin himself.
As the election campaigns continue we should all be challenging the candidates to tell us what they have and will do to protect whistle-blowers. The other thing that we can all do is speak out together when we know that something is wrong, Shoulder to shoulder is the only way to change this and prevent others having to go to the lengths that Chris has had to go.
Praise alone is not sufficient.