Heroes or villains: the PIP scandal and whistleblowing

Abstract

The article traces the history of the Poly Implant Prosthesis (PIP) scandal from an ethical perspective and explores the underpinning moral dilemmas inherent in the act of ‘whistleblowing.’ It goes on to consider the consequential stakeholder and broader societal reaction to whistleblowing which is discussed through deontological and teleological perspectives of ethically driven motives to act. It draws on the duty of care responsibility of healthcare professionals and the dilemma of personal consequence by the act of whistleblowing, whereby the objective of that act is the maintenance or improvement of patient standards and care. It argues that a cultural shift in organisational behaviour is urgently required to abrogate the needs for whistleblowing by means of internal systems and processes. Whistleblowing would thus become a supererogatory act of moral courage rather than carrying negative consequences in the interests of short-term saving face.