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NHS Grampian Speak-up Programme 2026

Every Voice Matters: Speak-up, Listen, Act

Speaking up is not limited to whistleblowing or formal concern raising. It includes:

• Asking a question.
• Identifying a risk.
• Sharing feedback.
• Suggesting an improvement.
• Raising a concern.
• Challenging respectfully.
• Fulfilling a professional responsibility.
• Raising a matter formally where that is the appropriate route.

Speaking up is a shared, everyday responsibility. Staff should feel able to raise matters, know where to obtain support, and be confident that what they say will be acknowledged and considered.

 

Programme at a glance

 

Day	Theme	Central question	Primary outcome
Tuesday 29 September	Every Voice Matters	What kind of culture helps people Speak-up?	Staff understand that speaking up includes ideas, feedback and concerns, and are encouraged to participate in the Everyone Matters survey.
Wednesday 30 September	Know Your Options	Where can I go, and what support is available?	Staff can identify appropriate speaking-up, advice, support and escalation routes without feeling pushed immediately into a formal process.
Thursday 1 October	Listen, Own, Act	What should happen when someone speaks up?	Managers, leaders and colleagues understand the importance of listening, acknowledging, taking appropriate action and closing the feedback loop.
Friday 2 October	Speaking Up All Year Round	How will we turn staff voice into learning and improvement?	The week’s messages are consolidated and staff understand that speaking up, listening and organisational follow-through continue throughout the year.

 

Overarching aims

Speak-up Week 2026 is intended to:

1. Broaden understanding of speaking up beyond formal whistleblowing.
2. Normalise speaking up as part of everyday working relationships and professional practice.
3. Improve awareness of available advice, support and reporting routes.
4. Strengthen confidence among managers and leaders in receiving and responding to concerns.
5. Reinforce the importance of acknowledgment, ownership, accountability and feedback.
6. Demonstrate, where it is safe and appropriate, how staff voice has contributed to action and improvement.
7. Connect Speak-up Week with the Everyone Matters pulse survey and future organisational learning.
8. Establish speaking up as a sustained organisational expectation rather than a one-week campaign.

Key campaign principles

Speaking-up is broader than whistleblowing

Staff may Speak-up about:

• An idea for improving a service.
• A question or challenge.
• Something that does not feel right.
• Staff experience.
• Equality, dignity or inclusion.
• Behaviour or relationships.
• Quality of care.
• Patient or staff safety.
• Fraud or wrongdoing.
• Bullying, harassment or discrimination.
• A failure to follow policy or professional standards.
• A serious concern requiring formal investigation.

 

There is no single route for every situation

The campaign should avoid suggesting that every matter must first be raised with a line manager. A manager may often be an appropriate first contact, but staff must also be aware of alternative routes and support where:

• The concern involves their manager;
• They do not feel safe or confident raising it locally;
• They want confidential advice before deciding what to do;
• They are unsure whether to use a formal process;
• The matter relates to a specialist area; or
• Revious attempts to raise the matter have not resolved it.

 

A conversation does not automatically start a formal process

Staff should know that they can seek information or confidential advice before deciding whether to proceed formally. Communications should explain clearly that some matters may require formal action, particularly where there is a serious safety, conduct or statutory concern, but seeking advice does not in itself mean that a formal case has begun.

Confidentiality has limits

The campaign should reassure staff that information will be handled sensitively and shared only where necessary. It should not promise absolute confidentiality because action may sometimes be required to protect staff, patients or others.

Speaking up requires a response

The responsibility does not end when someone raises an issue. The person receiving it should:

1. Listen to understand.
2. Acknowledge what has been raised.
3. Clarify what the person needs or expects.
4. Take ownership of the next appropriate step.
5. Explain what will happen.
6. Keep an appropriate record.
7. Provide an update where possible.
8. Close the loop, while respecting confidentiality.

For more information please visit NHS Grampian Speak Up and Whistleblowing

 

Published: 25/09/2026 13:39