The National Guardian’s Office has shared the results of its case review into Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and has praised the Trust for the progress it has made in improving its speaking up processes, practices and culture. In recognising that there is still work to do, it has made six recommendations for how we can continue to improve.
The case review involved a series of focus group sessions in January, which were open to all staff. The inspectors interviewed 78 BSUH colleagues, the majority of whom felt the working culture across the Trust has improved since the new Trust leadership has been in place. It also identified Patient First as providing a framework for people to speak up about and resolve issues collectively.
The report particularly recognises the steps the Trust is taking to address historic issues about discrimination, including engaging with and putting events on for staff group representatives, including the WRES working group and the LGBTQ+ network.
The report also said the latest Staff Survey results and CQC inspection identified clear improvements in the trust’s speaking up culture.
Trust Chief Executive Dame Marianne Griffiths said:
“Since our arrival at BSUH, we have made it our absolute priority to work with colleagues and support them to help make further improvements to the culture of the organisation, particularly in relation to equality and diversity. It is extremely encouraging, therefore, to see our improvements recognised through such a comprehensive review.
“As with all areas of performance, we also know there are ongoing improvements to be made. We welcome the recommendations in the National Guardian’s Office report and I’m very happy to say we’re already well on the way to implementing all of them. I want to assure all colleagues, but especially those from minority groups, that we value every individual and hope anyone with a concern feels confident that they can speak up and that their feedback will be taken seriously and used to drive further positive change.”
The recommendations for continued improvement include:
- Monitor and implement learning from National Guardian Office reviews of other organisations
- Measure the effectiveness of our Freedom to Speak Up Guardian communications
- Provide training for staff with speaking up responsibilities in handling difficult conversations
The full report is available here.
