Speaking prior to the release of his review, chief investigator Sir Robert Francis told the BBC that he was told some "frankly shocking stories" about medical personnel whose health "suffered" after they blew the whistle on NHS management.
In some cases, NHS staff said they "felt suicidal as a result of their perception of them being ignored or worse."
The study revealed that a "significant proportion" of NHS workers who were afraid of speaking out did not complain because they felt that nothing would be done.
The investigator cited one of the affected whistleblowers, a doctor, who complained that senior hospital staff tried to defame him as an "inefficient doctor" after he blew the lid off the hospital withholding important services from patients, according to the BBC.
The NHS is the UK publicly funded health care system. It comprises NHS England, Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland, NHS Scotland and NHS Wales. Its largest unit, NHS England, has almost 1.3 million employees.
