Freedom to Speak Up Service at Taurus Healthcare

What is the Freedom to Speak Up Service?

At Taurus Healthcare, we are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels safe and supported to speak up.

The Freedom to Speak Up Service provides a confidential and independent way for staff, patients, and others to raise concerns about safety, quality of care, or workplace issues. Speaking up helps us learn, improve, and deliver the highest standard of care across our services.

What does the service do?

The Freedom to Speak Up Service:

Listens to concerns in a supportive, non-judgemental way
Provides confidential advice and guidance
Helps you understand your options for raising concerns
Supports you throughout the process if you choose to speak up
Ensures concerns are handled appropriately and escalated where necessary
Encourages a culture of openness, learning, and continuous improvement
The service complements, but does not replace, formal processes such as incident reporting or complaints procedures.

Who is it for?

This service is available to anyone connected with Taurus Healthcare, including:

All staff (GPs, nurses, pharmacists, administrative and support teams)
Locum and temporary staff
Students, trainees, and volunteers
Patients, carers, and members of the public
Contractors and partner organisations
You do not need to be certain about your concern — if something feels wrong, you can speak up.

What kind of concerns can be raised?

You can contact the service about concerns such as:

Patient safety or risks to care
Unsafe or poor-quality services
Bullying, harassment, or inappropriate behaviour
Concerns about staff wellbeing that may affect patient care
Issues with systems, processes, or working practices
If there is an immediate risk to safety, please use urgent or emergency reporting routes.

Who is the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian?

The Freedom to Speak Up Guardian at Taurus Healthcare is a trained, independent individual who is here to listen and support you.

They are separate from line management and will:

Treat your concern seriously and respectfully
Maintain confidentiality wherever possible
Support you in deciding next steps
Help ensure your concern is heard and addressed appropriately

How to contact the service

You can contact the Freedom to Speak Up Service in a way that suits you:

Email: thl.ftsu@nhs.net  
In person: Michele Petrie – Head of Information Governance
Via QR Code:  You can raise concerns anonymously, although this may limit our ability to provide feedback.

What happens after you speak up?

Your concern will be listened to and discussed with you
You will be supported to decide what action to take
If appropriate, your concern will be shared with the right people to look into it
Feedback will be provided where possible
We aim to handle all concerns sensitively, fairly, and promptly.

Our commitment to you

At Taurus Healthcare, we are committed to:

Promoting a culture where speaking up is welcomed and valued
Taking all concerns seriously
Protecting individuals from unfair treatment or victimisation
Learning from concerns to continuously improve our services
If something doesn’t feel right, please speak up — your voice matters and helps us provide safer, better care for everyone.