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495Risking
It All: Providing Patient Care and Whistleblowing During a Pandemic
Health Care Providers as Whistleblowers
Many definitions of âwhistleblowingâ exist; we adopt Mannion and
Daviesâ definition: âthe disclosure to a person or public body, outside
normal channels and management structures, of information concern-
ing unsafe, unethical or illegal practices.â27 Throughout this pandemic
many workers have provided vital information about the existence
of the virus itself,28 outbreaks at different facilities, and the failure
of governments and institutions to adequately address the virus, for
example, by failing to provide appropriate PPE.29 Whistleblowers
have been variably characterized as âheroesâ and âsnitches,â despite
criticisms of these polarizing characterizations.30
The decision to blow the whistle can have significant conse-
quences. Most disturbing have been criminal penalties imposed by the
state, including imprisonment and fines.31 More commonly, we have
witnessed a range of professional consequences, such as discipline or
dismissal by the employer; disciplinary procedures for members of
a regulated health profession; and retaliation by peers.32 Health care
providers may also suffer personal consequences, including physical
and psychological harm.33
Whistleblowing by health care workers is not new. Most widely
known in Canada are the health care workers who reported public
27. Russell Mannion & Huw TO Davies, âCultures of Silence and Cultures of Voice:
The Role of Whistleblowing in Healthcare Organisationsâ (2015) 4:8 Int J Health
Policy Manag 503 at 503 [Mannion].
28. Ankita Rao, âDoctors Have Been Whistleblowers Throughout History. Theyâve
also Been Silencedâ, TheÂ
Guardian (8 April 2020), online: <https://www.theguard-
ian.com/education/2020/apr/08/coronavirus-doctors-whistleblowers-history-
silenced> [Rao]; Hillary Leung, ââAn Eternal Heroâ Whistleblower Doctor Who
Sounded Alarm on Coronavirus Dies in Chinaâ, Time (7 February 2020), online:
<https://time.com/5779678/li-wenliang-coronavirus-china-doctor-death/>.
29. Nicholas Kristof, ââI Do Fear for My Staff,â a Doctor Said. He Lost His Jobâ, The New
York Times (1 April 2020), online: <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/opin-
ion/coronavirus-doctors-protective-equipment.html> [Kristof]; Avery Haines,
âWhistleblower Says Workers at Nursing Homes Arenât Being Given Protective
Gearâ, CTV News (31 March 2020), online: <https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/
coronavirus/whistleblower-says-workers-at-nursing-homes-aren-t-being-given-
protective-gear-1.4877005>.
30. Mannion, supra note 27 at 503-504; Marilou Gagnon & Amelie Perron,
âWhistleblowing: A Concept Analysisâ (2019) Nurs Health Sci 1 at 5-6 [Gagnon].
31. Rao, supra note 28.
32. Kristof, supra note 29.
33. Gagnon, supra note 30 at 6.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International