In response to Health Services Safety Investigations Body findings that in some cases temporary NHS staff are never involved in serious incident investigations, Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive, NHS Providers, said:

"It's vital that all NHS staff feel free to speak up and to raise concerns about patients' care.

"Patient safety is trust leaders' top priority. Staff feeling safe, confident and able to voice worries is essential to that.

"NHS trusts are committed to improving the way that the workforce is supported to speak up without fear and more will be done in the best interests of staff and patients. Creating a culture of openness and transparency alongside efforts to continuously improve quality of care can help organisations learn from safety incidents while also reducing the risk of future harm to patients."