The results for the 2021 NHS Staff Survey were released today (Wednesday 30 March)
The NHS Staff Survey is carried out annually across England to capture staff views of their experience at work and NHS services. This year has marked a redesign of the survey and results are now aligned under the seven NHS People Promises, plus the themes of engagement and morale.
The last couple of years have been exceptionally difficult for everyone working in the NHS. Now, more than ever, it is important to hear what colleagues think about working for us – to help improve their working lives. This in turn leads to improvements in the care we provide for patients. 7,336 colleagues from Newcastle Hospitals took part in the survey last Autumn.
Where can I find the results?
The results were published on 30 March 2022 and the following infographic combines the questions staff answered with the key themes of the People Promise, plus the two key themes of morale and engagement. This helps us to understand what we are doing well and where we can continue to develop.
You can download of copy of the infographic here or you can access a black and white version here
You can view both national and local results through various interactive dashboards here
What happens next?
Providing the highest standard of care has always been our priority – even more so during the pandemic – and we know how important this is to all of our staff here at Newcastle. We were particularly proud to score higher than the national average (by 18.5%) when asked “If a friend or relative needed treatment I would be happy with the standard of care provided by this organisation.” Overall, the latest results show that we are in line with responses from other similar NHS organisations.
Ensuring that the voices of our staff continue to be heard continues to be a priority, and these survey results provide more depth to our understanding of the issues affecting staff and we will incorporate these findings into our ‘What Matters to You’ programme.
The issues highlighted in the staff survey are very much in line with the feedback given through ‘What Matters to You’ including flexible working and compassionate leadership. We are committed building on improvements in these areas.
We will continue to measure staff experience to understand the ongoing impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on everyone.
Through WMTY, we have heard that there are three high priority areas where staff want to see change, and these have been highlighted again in the staff survey;
- Greater autonomy and control – particularly more flexibility and more control over workload. To work smarter, not harder.
- More participative management – to feel more involved, included, listened to and engaged in decisions that affect you
- Better physical and psychological safety – to feel physically and emotionally safe and supported, with mental health being a priority.
We will also support leaders and managers to share the survey results and ensure that these results inform the ongoing ‘What matters to you’ work and staff experience action plans in each area. We hope that directorate results and free text data will be available in early May to support this.
For further information you can visit the FAQs page on the national website.