On 19th June, DAUK’s Learn Not Blame Campaign Lead, Dr Cicely Cunningham spoke alongside award-winning author Adam Kay, whistleblower Dr Chris Day, Dr Moosa Qureshi, Dr Aislinn Mackin-Doherty, Dr Amar Mashru and other NHS champions at an event held by Tim Johnson Law on the subject of “Junior Doctors Getting Heard”.
Adam Kay read from his book and spoke passionately about the realities of being a junior doctor working in the NHS. The event heard from Chris Day about his experiences of speaking up for patient safety and whistleblowing, and from Julia Salafsky, founder of the Crowdjustice website.
Cicely shared with the audience what DAUK has been doing from its inception in March, ranging from gathering thousands of signatures for letters and petitions, to contributing to government policy consultations, to raising awareness in the media of issues that matter to UK doctors. DAUK has campaigned on the Hadiza Bawa-Garba case, the role of doctors in childbirth, the Alfie Evans case and Tier 2 visa caps affecting the medical workforce, amongst other issues.
Cicely also gave a preview of DAUK’s exciting new campaign, called “Learn Not Blame”. This is a call for individual doctors to join a growing movement demanding a change in NHS culture, allowing individuals to commit to action within their own sphere of influence, and to put pressure on NHS leadership to mirror that change and commit at a Trust or Health Board level to an open, learning, just culture.
Watch the full video below. Cicely’s inspirational talk can be viewed from 1 hour 3 minutes.
