The results of the national NHS staff survey 2022 were published today. The confidential survey is open to all NHS staff between October and November each year – 39 per cent of our staff shared their experiences.

While overall we have lots to work on, we saw encouraging improvements in some areas. Our staff feel more supported in maintaining a healthy work/life balance; they are more involved and able to make improvements across our hospitals; and they are set clear objectives. Initiatives we’ve introduced over the last year, including our support with the cost-of-living crisis, and launching our Shadow Executive to empower staff, will have played a role in this.

It was disappointing to see staff morale has gone down, with more colleagues thinking about leaving our Trust, and the number of staff who would be happy with our standard of care if a friend or relative needed treatment continues to decline.

Our Chief Executive Matthew Trainer said: “We know we need to do more to make our Trust a better place in which to work. We have a lot of work to do to improve morale, and we need to understand more about the concerns staff have about the quality of care we provide.

“Thanks to those staff who took part. A priority for next year is to improve our response rate. We need to hear from more people who work here.”

The key areas we will focus on are; continuing to support staff wellbeing, career development, engagement, and how we reward and recognise our staff. In the coming weeks we’ll be launching a new scheme aimed at recognising those across our Trust who go that extra mile for their patients or their colleagues.

A newly established staff experience steering group, including clinical colleagues, staff network leads and trade union members, will oversee actions based on our feedback. All staff will have the opportunity to engage with and inform our improvements.