ABOVE average scores were given by South Warwickshire NHS staff responding to an employer survey.
The national Staff Survey, commissioned by the Department of Health, invites all staff to answer questions anonymously about the trust as an employer and healthcare provider. The national results from the survey, undertaken in October, demonstrate how difficult it has been for workforces across the NHS.
The trust, which is rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, places great emphasis on staff engagement and wellbeing and despite on-going pressures the latest results see SWFT rank above average within all the key themes compared to other NHS health providers.
Results from SWFT fell in above national averages for ratings on compassion and inclusivity, recognition, safety, flexibility, morale and the feeling of being part of a team.
SWFT is part of a ‘Foundation Group’ with Wye Valley NHS Trust and George Eliot Hospitals NHS Trust. All three organisations work together to overcome common challenges and share best practice.
Group chief executive Glen Burley said: “We cannot underestimate how difficult it has been for our teams over the past two years, but these challenges make our staff survey results even more meaningful.
“All three organisations firmly put staff at the heart of everything they do, so I am delighted that each trust has made positive improvements with this really important measure.
“The Foundation Group model strengthens our ability to bring teams together to learn from each other and share new innovations. As we recover from Covid working together to explore new opportunities to improve services, whilst keeping our teams happy and healthy will be a key priority.”
Anne Coyle, trust managing director, said: “It is great that our results remain in the top level for really important indicators such as recommending us as a place to work or receive treatment. However, it also highlights on-going challenges some of our teams face when carrying out their day-to-day roles.
“Discrimination and abuse of any form is not tolerated at our Trust and we will be doing everything we can to ensure all of our staff feel safe and supported. To demonstrate our commitment to this, one of our Trust wide objectives for 2022/23 is to create a workforce culture that empowers colleagues and enhances inclusion, diversity and equity.”
