Letter: Winning whistle

Sir: Roger Dobson (Health, 9 June) highlights the plight of "whistleblowers" and the risks they run in exposing wrongdoing. Whilst he rightly describes the stress and difficulty involved with blowing the whistle, I was disappointed to see that the focus was entirely on the negative.

I was in the unfortunate position in 1994 of having to blow the whistle on my boss. I decided after doing this that it would be best to leave the company, my concerns about being thought of as a troublemaker being the same as the ones expressed in your article.

My boss and his seven co-conspirators were found guilty last July and are now in prison. I received a commendation from the judge and a substantial reward from my employers, who asked me to come back and work for them. I rejoined the company two months ago and am thoroughly enjoying my work with nothing but positive feedback from all my colleagues.

My concern about articles such as this is that others facing situations similar to mine may be discouraged from acting. The attitude to whistleblowing is changing and companies like my current employer have given a lead. If we keep telling the public that whistleblowing will only do them harm, no one will ever do the right thing.

GARY BROWN

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire