Bernie Rochford MBE is a Principle Freedom to Speak Up Guardian supporting those speaking up in the NHS. In this blog, Bernie shares the life-changing experience she had for speaking up / whistleblowing in the NHS and where that’s led her.
I did not know how important Freedom of Speech was until I did not have it. It was 2014, I was an NHS Clinical Commissioner and it was three years on since I first spoke up at work about patient safety and poor practice. The Employment Tribunal to hear my whistleblow case was nearing, tension was mounting and the stakes were high. At a meeting with two managers, I told them I was scared to be in the room alone with them but they carried on regardless. My legs were shaking and at times I was holding my breath in order to hold back tears. Again I told the managers I was scared and needed a break. One told me sharply if I left the room it would be deemed disobeying management orders. To my detriment, I stayed. You might be wondering why I did not just get up and walk out but in the moment I felt so beaten, I just froze.
Over the years I had worked in the NHS and overseas winning several awards along the way for my commitment and service. Until 2011 when I started a new role as a Clinical Commissioner for Continuing Healthcare. Within two days, alarm bells rang for me as I sensed something in the accounts, records and databases did not add up. In line with my professional code of practice, I flagged it to my peers and managers but to no avail. It finally came to a head when we had to provide doctors with a list of patients under our care. No one could say for certain how many patients we had, who they were or where they were, although we were the commissioners paying for their care. A frantic exercise was undertaken phoning hospitals and nursing homes to determine who was dead or alive. Then the genie came out of the bottle and all hell broke loose.
I was subjected to intense scrutiny, my work sabotaged and undermined. I had to attend numerous meetings but afterwards the minutes bore little relation to what was said at the time. Quasi investigations were undertaken and misleading reports written. I was told I could not contact my union at work. I was referred to Occupational Health (OH) because my health deteriorated to such an extent, I was unable to go to work. Then I discovered the referrals sent to OH differed to the ones given to me. It came to light the manager was sending multiple other separate fabricated referrals to the doctor implying I was making it up. It felt like gaslighting. It reached the point that it was not safe for me to be at work, nor safe not to be as I was told if I valued my career I had to return to the office.
My whistleblowing case was heard at two Employment Tribunals but despite hard evidence, as a self-litigant for the most part, I lost. I could not compete with public funded barristers as I did not know points of law. I was a nurse, not a lawyer. Years later I heard, only 3% of whistleblowing cases succeed. Are the public aware they are largely funding a 97% failure rate? To what benefit?
For another three years I was passed like a baton between several hundred people across approximately eighty layers of management tiers, escalation routes and organisational bodies. It exposed no one had oversight of the whistleblow process; still to this day, no one person nor organisation does. I lost everything – my health, partner, social contact, home, career, income, savings, pension, dignity, identity. Over time, as my whistleblow journey became more and more hideous and frightening, I vowed not only to get back on my feet but do whatever I could, whenever I could to help other whistleblowers and change the system. I was on a mission and that is when life led me in a completely different direction.
“Without the Freedom to Speak Up, we will not have safety and equity.”
In 2018 I became a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian – a designated go-to person in the NHS if anyone wants to Speak Up or whistleblow. I listen to colleagues and channel their concerns to the appropriate person to address them. My mission took off, I was invited to join various Whistleblowing Advisory groups and contribute to meetings, projects, research and initiatives to further Speaking Up in the workplace. I was invited to become an Honorary Lecturer and present at conferences. In 2021, I was awarded an MBE for my work in this field. And in 2024, awarded a Churchill Fellowship to explore whistleblowing best practice in Japan, South Korea, The Philippines and USA and invited to author a chapter for a book on Whistleblowing .
It has been a long journey but I am excited for the future and feel each step is a step closer to cultivating the Freedom to Speak Up. I am proud to be part of this movement. We assume we have it, but before we can really have Freedom of Speech we have to create a safe environment in which to exercise that freedom and liberty. Without the Freedom to Speak Up, we will not have safety and equity. Not all of us will have a voice. It is sobering to realise the enormity of that, not just for me but for everyone and in particular all those in a more vulnerable position than mine. If we cannot talk about the issues and problems that exist, we cannot address them.
About the Author
Bernie Rochford MBE is a Principle Freedom to Speak Up Guardian supporting those speaking up in the NHS. As a former NHS Clinical Commissioner, Bernie experienced life-changing detriment and career derailment for speaking up / whistleblowing about NHS commissioning arrangements. Since then, supporting others Bernie works to address system issues that get in the way of people speaking up safely.
Originally from the Midlands, Bernie, a former nurse, qualified coach and mentor was awarded an MBE for services to the NHS and a Churchill Fellowship to explore whistleblowing best practice overseas and in the UK.
Further information
My whistleblow journey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZdZVHjSfKQ
An abridged diagram of my whistleblow journey The Report p55 Fig 3b
Bernie is proud to be speaking about Whistleblowing at the #HSJpatientsafety Congress on 15-16 September 2025, in Manchester. This event brings together 1000+ NHS and independent healthcare leaders, managers, clinicians, patient representatives. This year’s agenda addresses what it will take to deliver safety amidst the change that the government’s 10-year health plan brings and within a system operating under long-standing pressures.Download the programme: https://lnkd.in/eNMJd8te