Solent NHS Trust ‘best in class’ again for positive speaking up culture
Solent NHS Trust has been rated ‘best in class’ for its positive speaking up culture for the second year in a row, leading to better care for our patients.
The National Guardian’s Office issued its latest national Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Index report in July, which confirmed Solent as the best performing combined mental health, learning disability and community trust in the country. The Trust also had the second highest FTSU index score nationally.
The score is based on questions from the NHS annual staff survey. Solent scored 86.1 per cent, with the national average for the class being 80.2 per cent.
Sue Harriman, Chief Executive at Solent NHS Trust, said: “I’m thrilled that Solent has again been rated so highly in the Freedom To Speak Up Index report. A lot of hard work has gone into ensuring that our colleagues have the confidence and freedom to speak up, can raise concerns and know that they will be listened to and that we will act.
“Freedom to Speak Up is a key part of the NHS national People Plan. We have been working on the Solent Great Place to Work strategy for the last four years and are delighted to see that our focus on values, inclusion and engagement are very much mirrored in the national plan.
“We know that having this confidence is vital. It has a huge positive impact on the care that we provide to our patients and our ambitious vision of keeping more people healthy, safe and independent at, or close to, home.
“We want to continue to develop this speaking up culture, and through our excellent network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, we know we can continue to build on this success.
“As the report states, there is a very strong correlation between Trusts that have a positive speaking up culture and Trusts that are rated highest by CQC. We are incredibly proud of our people in Solent and strive to support them so that they can be at their best in order to provide great care to patients, service users, their families, carers and communities. We work hard across the trust to listen and learn from all people.”
Dr Henrietta Hughes OBE, National Guardian for the NHS: “Solent NHS Trust deserves enormous credit for being the highest ranked Combined Mental Health / Learning Disability and Community Trust.
“I very much hope other organisations are able to learn from this in order to achieve similar results and that Solent NHS Trust continues to strive to make speaking up business as usual.”
Freedom To Speak Up Guardians exist in all NHS Trusts across the country, allowing staff to seek confidential advice and support if they have a concern in the workplace. They can help raise any concerns and provide colleagues with confidential advice and support.
The guardians help ensure the Trust is an open and transparent place to work where everyone is encouraged and enabled to speak up safely.