Annual Report of Protected Disclosures 2024

Under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, the Chief Executive Officer of the HSA is prescribed as a recipient of protected disclosures in relation to all matters associated with legislation enforced by the HSA. Relevant workers, as defined by the Act, can also make internal disclosures relating to the HSA.

Under Section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, each public body is required to publish an annual report setting out the number of protected disclosures it received in the preceding year and the actions taken. Public bodies must publish the data in the report in a way that protects the identity of the disclosers.

From 1 January to 31 December 2024, the Chief Executive Officer of the HSA, in the context of their role as a prescribed person under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, received 56 reports of alleged wrongdoing related to third parties, submitted by parties external to the HSA. Of these, 30 reports of wrongdoing were made directly, and 26 were transferred from another prescribed person or from the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (OPDC). Of the 56 reports of wrongdoing, 24 were deemed to be protected disclosures to be investigated under the HSA’s remit. All 24 of these disclosures were subsequently referred to HSA inspectors for investigation. Of the disclosures received in 2024, 16 have been closed out and 8 remain under investigation. No internal disclosures were received.

Table 1. Reports of wrongdoing received in 2024 under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 wrongdoing received in 2024

Investigations and proceedings launched by the HSA as a result of reports which were both received and concluded in 2024 resulted in 14 Enforcement Orders being served. These included 13 Reports of Inspection and 1 Improvement Notice.

Three investigations, opened as a result of protected disclosures received in 2023 or previous years and still ongoing on 31 December 2023, were concluded during 2024.

Reports from previous years

• Protected Disclosure Annual Report 2023
• Protected Disclosure Annual Report 2022
• Protected Disclosure Annual Report 2020