Hospital staff happy to speak out, says report - The Worcester Observer

Hospital staff happy to speak out, says report

Worcester Editorial 17th Jul, 2020   0

STAFF at the Alexandra, Kidderminster and Worcestershire Royal Hospitals are feeling more confident and supported to speak up about improving the quality and safety of patient care according to a national report.

The Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Index uses questions from the annual NHS Staff Survey to determine whether staff feel knowledgeable, secure and encouraged to speak up with suggestions for improvements, and whether they are confident they would be treated fairly if they raised concerns about an error, near miss or incident.

According to the latest FTSU Index, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is in the top three of most improved trusts in the country on their FTSU Index score in 2019 compared to the previous year – rising 4.6 per cent to 78.5 per cent.

The Trust also scores above average when compared to other Acute Trusts (77.9 per cent average), with a score of 70 per cent or more perceived as a healthy culture.




Melanie Hurdman, Freedom to Speak Up Guardian at the Trust, who is also Matron for Maternity Inpatients and Intrapartum Care, said: “Freedom To Speak Up is vital in healthcare – it can be a matter of life or death,

“When workers feel psychologically safe, they will speak up to avoid harm, bring great ideas, and be able to express their concerns.


“A good speaking up culture makes for a safer workplace for staff, patients and service users, so I am really pleased that the work we have been doing in this area is recognised in this report.”

Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: “This result is testament to the hard work of our Freedom to Speak Up Guardian Melanie and her predecessor, the late Bryan McGinity, who have ensured that speaking up arrangements and culture have remained at the forefront of safety and quality agenda.

“Of course, better never stops and we will continue to work on identifying how we can further support colleagues to speak up and to effect positive culture change – for example, working with our new BAME network – and make speaking up business as usual.”

To read the full report visit: shorturl.at/jpFN3 .

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