In a year which has been unparalleled in our lifetime colleagues have highlighted improvements in staff health and wellbeing,  flexible working and being a safe working as  key indicators of improvement in the NHS Staff Survey* results released today.

The survey gives our staff the opportunity to provide us with important feedback on what it is like to work for the Trust.  Whilst we were pleased with the areas that we have improved upon we were disappointed that indicators in Equality , Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), team-working and bullying and harassment have declined.

Daren Fradgley , Acting Chief Executive Officer said “The NHS Staff Survey results have provided us with a clear indicator that as an organisation we are still not where we need to be.  Staff have told us that we need to keep working to improve EDI  and bullying and harassment in the Trust and will be refocussing our efforts to support this and ensure we have a healthy working environment where staff are treated fairly and with respect.

Over the past couple of years we have heavily invested in an Improvement Programme which links with strategic objectives and has distinct work streams. Our job now is to ensure that staff engagement is front and centre of  this programme and our staff feel supported in what they do .Equally,  I am encouraged that the response indicator for staff recommending  our Trust as a place to work and as a place to be cared for has improved again along with indicators in staff health & well-being, flexible-working and working in a safe environment        ”

Catherine Griffiths, Director of People and Culture added “ It is really important that our staff feel able to speak up and share their views. We listen to our staff throughout the year using various methods and this survey data  offers us some valuable insights to support that work.

With our comprehensive Improvement Programme  and supported by a robust engagement programme we are looking at putting actions quickly in place to ensure changes are made in the coming months. We want to continue to make staff feel that they are empowered to make the changes they need to support the Trusts ambition of becoming an outstanding  place to work. “