This article, by Catherine Levin, Managing Editor, Emergency Services Times (EST), discusses the importance of cultivating a culture of speaking up within the emergency services. The article highlights that despite the good intentions of culture reviews and recommendations, poor behaviour still prevails within the emergency services. The latest webinar hosted by the EST revealed that leaders must commit to change, model the behaviours they want to see, and make speaking up a part of day-to-day business as usual.
The article outlines proactive measures that can be taken to encourage a culture of speaking up, such as the role of leadership, anonymous reporting, training, and support. It also stresses the need to implement action plans, such as the Ambulance Trusts 2024 Review, to ensure that all staff are trained to support this. The article emphasises that leadership should be curious about their organisation’s operations to discover strengths and areas needing improvement. It suggests that speaking up should be encouraged and viewed as a positive contribution to the organisation rather than a problem.