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Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 3 November

November 6, 2023

This week I’d like to reflect on the pressure experienced by our emergency departments and our acute assessment units. As clocks went back last week-end signalling the early days of winter, already news is breaking about challenges experienced by emergency departments across the country. On Tuesday a critical incident was declared at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in response to extreme pressures across all services, whilst Norfolk’s largest hospital became the second in the county after the James Paget Hospital to do the same due to high demand for emergency services and a shortage of beds. Whilst this must never become normalised for us, for many of our colleagues in emergency and acute medicine it often feels like it is. So, on behalf of the executive and myself I would like to thank all colleagues currently working in our urgent and emergency care services, delivering the best care they can whilst demonstrating our Trust values.

I’d like to be clear that these colleagues should not consider themselves alone, they are one part of the bigger organisation and a significant part that needs our support. And I have an ask for every single colleague across the organisation to demonstrate that this winter we are all in this together. Regardless of your job, role or function please ask yourself ‘what can I do to support the organisation through winter?’ And in that question find the answer, whether it is ensuring our inpatients are discharged in a more timely manner, sharing ‘choose wisely’ messages with your family, friends and communities, getting your flu and covid vaccination, practicing and demonstrating good hand hygiene or even making healthier lifestyle choices, the power to help is your hands. In the next few weeks I will be hosting a media briefing for journalists across our patch and I’ll be putting to them what we ask of our communities, and what we intend to deliver for our patients. At this point it is reassuring to know that this will be our last winter before we move into the Midland Met, so please hold that thought as winter advances.

You are our strength and without our people we cannot serve, which is why as this year we mark the 20th anniversary of the NHS Staff Survey, I am asking everyone who hasn’t yet completed the survey to do so, it takes just 10 minutes to complete. The staff survey incorporates the NHS People Promise and reflects the commitments within our own People Plan. The results of the NHS Staff Survey provide valuable insights into how to improve the way that we engage, resource, support, develop and communicate with our people. To date our response rate is standing at 20.8% with colleagues in our corporate group leading at 34%, Imaging at 23%, PCCT 22%, WCH17%, Surgical services 16% and MEC 11%.  Know that we can do much better! I will make a commitment to you all that we will take forward actions, based on the feedback that we receive through the survey, at Trust, Group, and local team levels, to improve the working lives of our staff. I will also ask that, wherever possible, leaders create space in team meetings during the next couple of weeks to give those attending the opportunity to complete their survey. The survey is a great opportunity for everyone to influence our people agenda, we want to hear about where we can improve, as well as what works well for staff, so that we can build on good practices and experiences and share these across our organisation for the benefit of our people.

Only recently joining the organisation as interim Chief People Officer James Fleet has already met with some of our clinical group operational leaders to discuss a new approach to developing and implementing high impact improvements from both the national staff survey and our own pulse survey, using our Trust People Plan as our guide. To improve engagement it has been agreed that each clinical group and corporate services leader will identify three high impact actions for their area. For example, actions within surgical services include a positive focus on empowering and enabling all staff to ‘have a voice’ providing forums to share ideas, challenge decisions, discuss development and raise concerns openly, and a commitment to ensuring retained estate areas are adequately equipped with appropriate equipment and provide pleasant working environments, whilst within medical and emergency care plans are in place so teams receive regular feedback and have the opportunity to discuss how the move to Midland Met will affect teams at local level. They will also improve recognition and develop a local newsletter and senior leaders will visit local areas to actively listen to concerns.

Within PCCT actions include development of a methodology to improve communication regarding changes that do not involve Midland Met, whilst they will increase participation of clinical support and opportunities to participate in future surveys looking at IT access and enabling paper versions for those who choose to respond this way, and similar to MEC, senior leaders will visit local areas to understand environmental concerns and escalate appropriately.

The Trust’s staff networks will be engaged to support the development of improvement plans to ensure that the actions being taken forward reflect the diverse needs of our staff communities.  The publication of the annual staff survey is expected next spring and once received we will work at pace to have ‘Big Conversations’ with colleagues to develop improvement plans. Progress will be visible across the Trust as monthly updates will be published, and all line managers will have an annual objective relating to strengthening staff engagement and morale, as measured through the staff survey results.

And finally, our IT and communications teams are working hard developing our new website and intranet. It’s not before time as our current website was developed over fifteen years ago and is well past its prime. The team is focussed on ensuring the content that represents our services is accurate and accessible, so if you are contacted please respond promptly. Not only is our website a digital window to our organisation but a necessity in an increasingly online world, so it is in our interest that it represents us professionally. The launch is coming in the new year – in time to make the most of the build up to our big move and celebrate 200 years of BMEC. Don’t miss it.