Speaking up can often be seen as a huge personal risk to those who choose to speak out. This includes across the health and social care system.
In this episode in the ‘Care to chat’ 2026 podcast series, our host Dr Wendy Austin MBE speaks to Professor Peter McBride, Strategic Advisor and Organisational Consultant, Tracy Reid, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Social Care Council and Briege Donaghy, Chief Executive, Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA). They shine a light on why more needs to be done to ensure workers can speak up. The conversation explores what ‘speaking up’ means for social workers and social care practitioners, and their colleagues across the health and social system.
‘Care to chat’ releases a new episode every fortnight, discussing current topics about social care and social work regulation in Northern Ireland. Listen to ‘Care to chat’ wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple, Spotify, or on our website at: niscc.info/care-to-chat-podcast, where you can find all the new episodes and episodes from our previous series.
Informed by the publication of the Department of Health’s Being Open Framework – which aims to support a culture of openness, honesty, and transparency across health and social care in Northern Ireland, the RQIA’s Being Human Framework, alongside the impact of key reviews and inquiries in recent years, our guests help guide us through the importance of choosing to speak out, and the need for organisational cultures that are set up to ensure it can happen in a safe way to empower and support those who do.
We publish this episode as World Patient Safety Day is being recognised. With a palpable shift being felt across the system, recognising culture and safety across all public services, are more than policies and procedures (though these still need to be in place), listen in to hear to understand how these changes are not a choice but a necessity.
Talking about why this is so important and relevant right now Peter McBride said:
“Part of what’s happened over the last few years has been a shift in attitude around this, where there is a growing understanding in organisations of the link between culture and patient safety.
“Arguably in the past people thought they could legislate themselves through patient safety issues – the more rules we put in, the more protocols we put in, the safer we are going to be. Unfortunately, inquiry after inquiry has shown that not to be true. I think there is a growing recognition that engaging with staff and supporting them around being open and understanding and supporting culture in organisations – has a very direct and explicit link with patient safety and good outcomes.”
Episode 9: Being open, speaking up and being human – what does this all mean? (47 minutes)
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As the Care to chat podcasts are designed with the social care and social work workforce in mind, we would like to invite suggestions of topics that our listeners would be interested to hear covered. If you have questions, suggestions or feedback about the podcast, email: comms@niscc.hscni.net.