Staff survey 2024: proud to be compassionate and inclusive
Our hospitals stand out above many others in the NHS for the compassionate culture we uphold towards our patients, according to the latest national staff survey.
We scored highest for compassion and inclusion among our seven NHS People Promise themes and are above the national average for putting a compassionate culture into practice.
More than three-quarters of our staff say the care of patients is the organisation’s top priority. Almost two-thirds of us recommend the trust as a place to work. And a similar number would be very happy with the standard of care we provide if any of their family or friends needed medical treatment.
About half of all substantive employees completed the staff survey last autumn, the most respondents for several years.
The overall findings show welcome improvements in most scores compared to last year, although we continue to lag behind other acute NHS trusts. For example, three-quarters of our staff said they had an annual appraisal, which is less than the national average. Yet more people said that it helped them with their job. More of our staff said they had enough materials to do their job than last year, though half of our colleagues still disagreed – a proportion that was significantly above the national average.
Among the biggest single changes since last year was that fewer of us reported working additional unpaid hours. Still, one-third said they found work emotionally exhausting or frustrating, and that they were worn out at the end of their shift. Over half of us complained that we could not eat nutritious and affordable food while at work.
Of the one in seven staff who reported being the victim of discrimination, the majority said this was due to their ethnic background. Almost 30% of ethnic minority staff said they experienced bullying, harassment or abuse from patients or the public. This represented a slight increase over previous years, during which the proportion of white staff suffering such experiences has fallen to 27%.
16% of bank staff completed the survey, scoring higher than substantive staff across all People Promise themes, with notable improvements in feeling recognised and rewarded.
These latest findings will inform our ongoing efforts to improve working lives
Shane DeGaris, group chief executive, said: "I’m grateful to all those who completed the survey. Your feedback is important to us, and these latest findings will inform our ongoing efforts to improve working lives across our hospitals and support services.
"It is particularly heartening to see the progress made in enabling flexible working and regular appraisals, yet we clearly also need to review our catering arrangements for staff and renew our efforts to end the discrimination experienced by some groups."
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