Dr. Gabriel Scally:

Such legislation is to be welcomed not only because it will compel people to disclose, but also because it provides a protection for those who are aware of something that is going wrong to be able to tell their colleagues or bosses that they are legally required to disclose even if told not to do so. Such protection should not be underestimated.

The Deputy is quite right that changing the culture will be difficult. Many women who have been patients of or worked in the health service have stated that the observations of the women and relatives affected by this issue regarding the deeply unsatisfactory nature of some comments by doctors are not atypical of their personal experiences. Even women doctors working in obstetrics and gynaecology have stated that they have been the subject of paternalistic and unhelpful comments during their career. Robert Francis wrote in the report of the Mid Staffordshire inquiry that, "for all the fine words printed and spoken about candour, and willingness to remedy wrongs, there lurks within the system an institutional instinct which, under pressure, will prefer concealment, formulaic responses and avoidance of public criticism". That strikes me as being almost perfect.