Whistle Blowing Advice Please.
I'm new to care work, I have many years experience working in other environments and have many miles on my clock but am relatively green in care work, less than 12 months. I am working in a situation as a team who work 2:1 24/7 with a lady who has a significant brain injury. Care is funded by insurance payout. The team on the whole is excellent but there is one carer, who is the team leader, and I have concerns that her tone of voice to the patient and the language she uses is far too aggressive and bullying. The patient seems wary and nervous of this carer too.
We have a whistle blowing process but I am not convinced of the dynamics within management who seem to be beholdent to this carer. So, I'm not sure any whistle blowing would work...plus with me being a newbie to this profession I may be wrong in my judgement.
I am thinking of recording interactions and then asking third parties of their opininions before whistle blowing.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Wow you seem to be doing something right, especially asking for opinions if you are not sure. Does this carer tone of voice different when dealing with colleagues? If you feel that what the carer is doing seems to be off, are you able to approach your manager directly to discuss the issues? Can your manager consent you to record? If you still feel that you can't go that route you could whistle blow with the council to keep anonymous
Trust your instinct. If you are seeing something you are not happy with, then their behaviour isn't right. New staff bring fresh eyes to services and being new is a positive - you are seeing things that others have 'let go'. New staff often learn how to behave from their seniors/team leaders and this is exactly how organisational abuse can manifest.
Usually the first thing to do is to discuss it with your line manager, however if that is the team leader, go to their manager. if you don't feel comfortable talking to a senior manager, please google 'adult safeguarding' in your local authority. You will be able to talk to someone about your concerns, and they can give advice and decide what action is required.
It is never easy to report concerns, but it is ALWAYS the right thing to do. Well done for speaking up for your client and good luck with the reporting process.