Despite having worked through a really tough year, the resilience of staff at Wye Valley NHS Trust has shone through in the latest national staff survey results.
The survey, carried out in autumn last year, involved tens of thousands of responses from staff at NHS Trusts across the county. The final reports paint a detailed picture of workers and allows comparisons between similar Trusts.
Despite the pressures of dealing with the Covid pandemic, results of WVT staff were higher than the national average in seven out of the ten key themes in the survey and equal with the national average in two more.
The anonymous results – based on a total of 542 responses from WVT staff members – reflect their views on their work, the Trust, their working environment and their own health and wellbeing.
Building on last year’s improvements, Wye Valley NHS Trust was above the average in the following key themes:
- Equality and diversity
- Health and wellbeing
- Immediate managers
- Morale
- Safe environment
- Staff engagement
- Team working
The Trust equalled the national average in two areas:
- Quality of care
- Safety culture
“There’s no doubt this has been the toughest year any of us have experienced and I can’t say how proud I am of the way Team WVT rallied together in the face of some huge challenges during the last 12 months,” said Jane Ives, WVT Managing Director.
“Colleagues have shown grit, determination, compassion and dedication, to ensure local people received great services despite the extra pressure of caring for a number of very sick Covid patients.
“We’ve had staff working in areas they have never worked in before, staff shielding and some working at home. It has been a turbulent year but their professionalism has shone through and we’re delighted with the results.
“We’ve seen improvements in a number of areas, including the three key themes of equality, diversity and inclusion, staff health and wellbeing and our safety culture.”
With all the added pressure of the pandemic, the Trust is keen to ensure the welfare of staff is being managed and there is currently a big drive to support colleagues through a range of health and wellbeing initiatives.
“A happy and healthy workforce will deliver great services and we’re working closely to build on our staff engagement to understand their views so that they can help shape services.
“These results demonstrate we’re building on the achievements of previous years and show an improving trend which will ultimately be good for our patients.”
