Staff at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust have used the annual NHS Staff Survey to report that they feel safer, with their wellbeing a priority and that they believe the organisation is focused on patient care.
Results of the 2021 NHS Staff Survey, the largest survey of its kind carried out across thousands of NHS organisations across the country, are now available.
In total, a record 58% of staff – 5,265 colleagues – took the time to have their say despite the pressures of the pandemic.
ELHT’s Interim Chief Executive, Martin Hodgson, who started the role in September last year having joined the Trust in 2009, has thanked colleagues for their engagement and pointed to a range of positive results, but acknowledged there is always work to be done.
Key results show that 65% of staff would recommend the organisation as a place to work, 69% would be happy with the standard of care if a friend or relative needed treatment, and 78% believe care of patients / service users is the organisation’s top priority.
Importantly, the survey also shows that the Trust has reported improvement in the numbers of staff not experiencing harassment, bullying, abuse or violence from patients, relatives, the public and colleagues.
This year for the first time the themes of the survey have been brought in line with the national NHS ‘People Promise’ – a pledge that everyone in the NHS will help improve the experience of working in the organisation.
These themes are: We are compassionate and inclusive, We are recognised and rewarded, We each have a voice that counts, We are safe and healthy, We are always learning, We work flexibly, We are a team, Staff engagement, Morale.
ELHT scored above average in seven of the nine themes, with one average result (We are a team) and one slightly below average (We are always learning).
Martin Hodgson said: “Each year the NHS Staff Survey is such a useful way for us to benchmark our organisation against others in the NHS and to get a valuable snapshot of how our colleagues are feeling.
“It’s wonderful that during such a difficult time with the everyone going above and beyond to ensure our patients receive the highest level of care, so many people wanted to get involved and give us their thoughts.
“We’ve had some great feedback, with highlights including people reporting that the organisation takes positive action on health and wellbeing, on career progression and improved numbers of people reporting they do not experience harassment, bullying, abuse or physical violence in their jobs.
“However, this is just the start of the process – our colleagues have done the hard work by letting us know how they feel, and now it’s up to the Trust and its Executive team to make sure that we continue to learn and improve.
“We know there is more work to do, particularly in terms of internal processes like appraisals which we deliberately stood down due to the pressures of the pandemic. This has had an impact on how some colleagues feel supported by managers, so we will be sharing these results across the organisation and making sure real and lasting changes are brought about.
“I’d like to thank everyone who took part and who have been so keen to help contribute to making this such a great place to work.”