It’s possible I’m going to have a soapbox moment this week on a topic that is very close to my heart and, I like to think, at the centre of my leadership style – values and behaviours.
I have said many times I appreciate open and honest feedback – whether that’s from colleagues or patients and their families. I value both highly and find them immensely helpful in triangulating the cold, hard performance data and metrics about how we’re doing with the actual lived experience people have.
The ultimate aim, for me, is to bring these things together to get a real sense of what is happening ‘on the ground’.
This week in the Trust we marked the end of the annual Pride awareness month of June and the Islamic holy celebration of Eid Ul-Adha. Both important dates in the calendar for colleagues and patients, as well as the wider community and I am proud of the way we actively champion, sponsor and encourage an inclusive culture – where everyone is recognised, welcome, treated with respect and feels able to be themselves.
Of course, this stands for people who identify with any number of protected characteristics, and we have a diverse range of networks for colleagues to share their experience of discrimination and help push through awareness and change. These include networks based on race, gender, sexuality and disability, among others.
On Tuesday, during the regular ‘Teams Brief’ internal broadcast where we provide updates and invite questions and feedback from colleagues, I invited key people to talk more about our networks and approach to inclusivity, including of course Pride and Eid.
It was a really positive conversation on the whole, detailing the support on offer and celebrations in place and we received positive feedback from people watching.
What was disappointing and difficult, however, was that some thoughts were shared which were outdated and offensive – and anonymous in the chat. They remained, rightly, unpublished for the session but as testimony to our commitment to calling this kind of thing out, we did raise the issue at the end.
I felt disappointed if I am honest and I said so, but we have to recognise their presence and take action to do something about it. This was one incident, but people are enduring this kind of behaviour and rhetoric every day. This is exactly why we have networks, policies and procedures in place – which will continue to improve our culture and ensure a bright future for the Trust.
I would hope it goes without saying that there is no place in ELHT for discrimination or harassment of any kind including that based on gender, sexuality, race, age, disability or any other characteristic of anyone who works for or is being treated here. If you see it, please call it out and challenge it. If it is happening to you, please tell someone so we can help you. If you’re doing it, stop.
The Trust actively promotes inclusion and cohesiveness. Values and behaviours are not just in place, but lived and breathed. I see and hear this every day and I know this is the case in many teams and services too – but clearly not everyone is on this page, so there is more to do.
From me, know I won’t stand by and accept discrimination of any kind, ever, and I genuinely hope colleagues and patients – the whole community – enjoyed both Pride and Eid and are aware of how important they are to the Trust.
You’ll remember I said there were two things so here’s the second, which I will mention only briefly and factually to save provoking a huge debate on what is always a controversial subject.
I want to appeal to those people who are behaving in an anti-social way on site to stop. This includes smoking and littering, leaving rubbish behind which could be removed and not only expecting others to clean up afterwards, but actively creating an extra workload when the pressure is already on.
This plea was prompted by a complaint from a visitor which I took as a fair challenge and reflection of his experience – but felt a little unfair because the issues he described were largely not of our making nor within our control. All we can do is perpetually clean-up, which is consuming valuable resources which would be better placed elsewhere.
Please remember smoking is not permitted on site which means we don’t provide cigarette waste bins, which are a fire risk, or smoking areas. We do, however, expect people to respect the policy and this is published on the website and included in patient correspondence and appointment letters.
In terms of litter, there are bins everywhere emptied on average at least three times a day. Please, use them.
As part of the Trust’s preparations for the NHS’s 75th birthday next Wednesday, we have been looking back at how far we have come as well as considering where we need to go next. It’s been a mixture of pride, memories and reminiscing and excitement for what is to come.
There is so much in our rich history to recognise, celebrate and be thankful for, as well as ambitious hopes and dreams for the future.
My message to colleagues, patients and visitors today is that the NHS is funded by, belongs to and is here for us all and there are things we can and should all do to protect and preserve it for another 75 years to come.
Please think of that when you’re here. Only together can we manage this great institution and I know we all really appreciate it.
Martin