There a few aspects to note about people who portray themselves as whistleblowers in the media. 1. Each member of the public should read the evidence presented by whistleblowers in the media. This maybe in the form of reports, disclosures, expert opinions, internal reports, regulatory body findings. 2. One should understand that not all whistleblowers are right just because they like bleating about their consultant titles and how much they have suffered under the oppressive regimes of the NHS. Consultants in general are very well set up, often have a good deal of support and more often than not cry over split milk because they can't raise to their usual respected position post whistleblowing. 3. It is important to read the judgments of whistleblowers. Just because they believe that they have been treated unfairly, does not mean that this is necessarily the case. 4. Beware of health professionals blackmailing Trusts to extort finances using the whistleblowing ticket. In summary, not everyone is a bona fide whistleblower. The Trust is not always the bad guy. Sometimes, they may well be the good guy. It is therefore important to study the evidence in detail and make your own mind up. 5. The important aspect of whistleblowing is patient safety. I cannot stress this enough. Whistleblower cases or suffering are not important. If anything should be publicised, it should be the awful neglect meted out on the disabled and elderly, not the cases of whistleblowers. This may sound harsh but the public cannot and should not be distracted from the main point of whistleblowing - which is to improve healthcare. Legitimate whistlkeblowers raise concerns so the public can walk into the NHS and be confident of the healthcare they receive. Everyone deserves the highest standard of care and if this isn't happening, we are all doing something wrong in addressing the accountability issues in whistleblowing. 6. No one knows the current damaging impact of system failures and failures of accountability. These aspects have not been investigated because the Francis Report, HSC Reports all concentrated on a "No blame" scenario. These lip-service reports were done to appease the public and allow the system to continue as it always has been. Not one person, organisation etc was held accountable, prosecuted or fired during these reviews. Ask yourselves why the medical establishment and the government would engage in this kind of behaviour - a whitewash of the real issues. 7. Anyone who thought up the "No blame culture" was devoid of detailed knowledge. Without blame there is no accountability. If we do not hold organisations like the BMA, GMC, NMC, Royal Colleges accountable, patients will continue to die needlessly. These organisations escape accountability by writing good press releases and having the right people in the right places. 8. The public will note that any whistleblower in a position of power or those sidling up to the government will probably have accepted tit bits from them in return for their loyalty. Everyone should be observant of these aspects of those who medicate their stress/trauma by accepting prizes and jobs from those they once disliked. Its a kind of "if you can't beat them, join them". Of course, ethical whistleblowers stay faithful to their cause and remain independent of all these influences. 9. The public must learn to question what they see, hear and read in the media. They must also learn to question whistleblowers as much as they do politicians. Only then will there be a good feedback loop ensuring information delivered is vetted and questioned by those that actually matter - the tax payer. Before making a whistleblower famous or talking about them, just remember there is always a patient in need of that attention as it may make the difference between life and death. For every minute of empathy given to a whistleblower, remember that a homeless man in the street or those frail and ill in the hospitals in the NHS may need it more. Rita Pal