Chief Executive Maz Fosh on values

I’d like to talk about values, as it is NHS Values Week. These fit nicely with the values in Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS), which we call the LCHS Way.

Values can be described as beliefs which direct our actions and behaviour. As you know, the NHS belongs to the people. It is founded on a common set of principles and values that unite communities, patients and NHS staff.

The NHS values are; working together for patients, compassion, respect and dignity, improving lives, commitment to quality of care and that everyone counts. I’m sure everyone would agree that these values are appropriate and are what we would expect from the NHS.

I would guess most people can relate these values to their experiences of NHS care; I know I can.

In my organisation, our values are expressed in the LCHS Way. We listen, we care, we act and we improve. This is how we agree we will conduct ourselves. Many of our values come naturally to people, and others can be more challenging to meet, especially if people are working in difficult situations.

Here’s a flavour of how we bring our LCHS Way to life.

We care; everyone is valued, respected and developed. The knowledge and skills of our staff is nurtured and we strive to celebrate success.

There are many ways staff display these values. For example, we choose to celebrate success. We hold annual Celebrating Success Awards and we encourage staff to apply for external awards. Deborah Faulkner, a staff nurse at Johnson Community Hospital is a finalist in the national HEAT (healthcare, education and training) Awards and our Urgent Care Streaming service and Clinical Assessment Service team are regional winners in the The Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award at the 2019 NHS Parliamentary Awards.

In our health and wellbeing service, we have decided to use the amazing skills of our very talented workforce to give all staff the chance to take part in wellbeing activities such as art and craft workshops, joining our staff choir or participating in one of the many exercise classes we offer. These sessions give staff the chance to relax and unwind outside of their working day, whilst developing creativity, engaging in healthy lifestyle activities and getting to know colleagues better.

In summary, values are important in shaping how we work and behave in all organisations, but especially people focused services, like the NHS.