Local community NHS trusts improve in national staff survey

NHS staff working in community, mental health and learning disability services in Lincolnshire feel supported by their managers and would recommend their organisations as a place to work and receive treatment according to the findings of a national survey.

Nearly 60 per cent of staff responded to the national NHS staff survey at both Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) and Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS), showing a marked improvement across a number of key areas.

The survey, which was carried out between September and December 2017 across 309 NHS organisations, is used by trusts to help improve staff and patient experience and by regulators such as the Care Quality Commission to make sure safety and quality standards are being met.

Both trusts scored above the national average for staff engagement when compared with organisations of a similar type, each scoring 3.85 out of 5. This indicates how staff feel able to contribute towards improvements at work, motivation is good and in many cases they would recommend their organisation as a place to work or receive treatment.

This year LPFT performed above the national average for mental health trusts in 18 of the 32 key findings in the report. In particular, making good improvements in communication between staff and senior managers and staff feeling confident in reporting unsafe clinical practice.

LPFT also reported 13 key findings in line with the national average, with only one area just below.

Dr John Brewin, chief executive at LPFT, said he was pleased to see staff engagement on the increase.

“The NHS Staff Survey is an essential indicator on the Trust’s performance as an employer and something we take extremely seriously and I am pleased that so many of our staff have taken the time to complete the survey.

“Alongside patient safety, staff satisfaction is one of our top priorities and having staff who feel engaged and valued is important to us.

“These results will be analysed to see what areas we can improve on over the coming year, to ensure our staff are continually supported to deliver high quality mental health and learning disability services to all our patients, service users, their families and carers.”

Meanwhile, LCHS also saw improvements compared to 2016 in staff satisfaction. This included the levels of responsibility and involvement staff have, effective use of patient/service user feedback and the recognition and support they receive from their managers and the organisation.

LCHS performed above average for community trusts in seven of the national indicators, with 23 others in line with the national average and two areas slightly below.

Maz Fosh, deputy chief executive and director of workforce and transformation at LCHS, said: “We are very pleased to see improvements across a number of different areas of the national NHS Staff Survey this year.

“Notably, our staff feel we are using feedback from patients and service users more effectively and they feel better supported, recognised and valued by their leaders and the wider organisation. This year also saw a significant increase in areas relating to job satisfaction, leadership and patient care and experience.

“The NHS Staff Survey is one of many ways we gather feedback to make sure we challenge ourselves to continually improve and do not become complacent on behalf of staff and those we care for. We are now exploring the results in greater detail to make sure we appropriately address those areas we know should be stronger.”

To view the full NHS Staff Survey Results click here.