Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust is now in the top 10 most improved healthcare organisations nationally for staff feeling able to speak out to raise concerns in the workplace.

The National Guardian’s Office – which leads, trains and supports a network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians (FtSU) and provides support to the healthcare system in England on speaking up – has published analysis of the FtSU questions, as outlined in the NHS Staff Survey 2022.

Walsall Healthcare’s FtSU service has been recognised for significant improvement during the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection and the organisation has thanked the entire team for all its hard work in delivering an exceptional service.

Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, National Guardian for the NHS, will be invited to visit Walsall Healthcare to see for herself the interventions which have contributed to this improvement.

Professor David Loughton CBE, Group Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted to hear we are in the top 10 most improved organisations nationally in terms of the FtSU sub-score.

“The FtSU roles are such an important aspect of our organisation – vital in supporting our staff and making the Trust a better place to work.

“I look forward to meeting Dr Chidgey-Clark to show her how we have achieved this improvement and created this positive environment for our staff.”

The Trust currently has three FtSU Guardians – Suleman (Sol) Jeewa, Lead FTSU Guardian, Val Ferguson and Samiya Begum.

Val, who has been a FtSU Guardian since 2018 and worked at Walsall Healthcare for more than 40 years, said: “This is a tremendous achievement.

“The hard work of the FtSU team and the continued support of our senior leaders (Prof. David Loughton CBE, Group Chief Executive, and Catherine Griffiths, Chief People Officer) ensure speaking up is always at the forefront.

“With the continued hard work and dedication from the FtSU team, and support from all involved at Walsall Healthcare, we will strive to continually improve on this agenda, supporting all staff to ensure their voices are heard.”

Sol is a Registered Nurse who has worked across the Midlands primarily in emergency care and acute medical care and Samiya is a Midwife.

They have recently replaced Shabina Raza, Lead Trust Guardian and Antimicrobial Specialist/Lead Clinician, and Kim Sterling, Practicing Podiatrist, who have temporarily stepped back from the roles to pursue other opportunities.