Staff give the RD&E a positive report in the annual NHS Staff Survey - 2017
Staff at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust have given the Trust yet another positive report in the 2017 NHS staff survey released today (6 March 2018). Staff highly recommend the Trust as a place to work and to receive treatment placing it above average of Acute and Community Trusts nationally (3.97 out of 5 compared to a median of 3.75).
RD&E staff rated 21 out of 32 Key Findings in the survey better than average for all Acute and Community Trusts in 2017, including staff involvement in improvements at work, effective team working, support from immediate managers and placing the care of patients as the organisation's top priority. No Key Findings were below the Acute and Community Trust average. In all, 50.2% of RD&E staff completed the survey in 2017 - up by over 8% year on year.
Despite ongoing operational pressures and the integration of community services, the RD&E has maintained an above average rating for “staff engagement” – assessed from answers to nine key questions. The RD&E’s overall staff engagement indicator has outperformed the average Acute and Community Trusts nationwide, following a programme of activities to transform our culture and to engage staff in change. The Trust scored 3.90 out of 5 putting it on par with its 2016 results and significantly above the national average for Acute and Community Trusts, at 3.78.
The results build on positive NHS Staff Friends and Family Test results for Q2 last year, which showed that 93% of staff would recommend the RD&E as a place to receive treatment – compared to 81% for similar Trusts.
The survey also highlights some areas to continue working on, including the number and quality of staff appraisals and the need for a more consistent approach to staff engagement for all areas of the Trust.
Tracey Cottam, RD&E Director of Transformation and Organisational Development, said: “At a time when the NHS has been under significant pressure, it is really pleasing to report that we have continued to perform well in the latest staff survey. Our staff are central to providing great care each and every day and the survey underlines that our people deliver kind and compassionate care, that we have a strong team ethos and that we are always seeking to improve our services. We will continue to focus on improving the way we engage with staff because we know that is central to delivering high quality, safe care and better patient experience. This includes building on what we are doing well as well as focusing on areas that need improvement.”
The NHS Staff Survey is the largest annual workforce survey in the world and participation is mandatory for all NHS organisations in England. The survey was carried out independently by Picker Institute Europe on behalf of the RD&E.
