Annual Report 2004-2005:Our Staff
Our
staff
A
diverse workforce
Equality
Awards
Recruitment
and Retention
Agenda
for Change
Occupational
Health
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a printable version of the Trust's 2004/05 Annual Report
Our staff
The second NHS national staff opinion survey was held in September 2004. The survey was sent to over 750 randomly selected staff within the Trust and achieved a response rate of 57%. The results, which showed improvements on the previous year in 60% of the questions, were used to help focus the HR strategy on those areas which required further attention, such as management development, staff involvement and the tackling of violence to staff.
In November 2004, we held our first staff conference. One hundred staff from all wards and departments came together to hear about the Trust’s plans for the future, as well as the feedback we have received from our patient surveys, staff surveys and performance ratings. A great deal of discussion and debate led to tangible ideas on how to improve the working lives of staff and how to improve hand washing. Staff also said they would like the opportunity for more face-toface communication, and suggested that more social events would help improve relationships between
A diverse workforce
As a large provider of acute care, employing over 4000 staff, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust is committed not only to ensuring that all of its services are accessible, appropriate and fair, but also to recruiting a diverse workforce, matching the diversity of the local population and being capable of understanding the needs and culture of patients within the communities it serves.
The Trust has, therefore, worked hard to improve equality through various NHS-wide and local Trust initiatives, and whilst recognising that managing diversity is a continuous process of improvement, not a one-off initiative, the Staff Survey identified that some 70% of staff recognise that the Trust is committed to equal opportunities.
Equality
At West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust we are committed to delivering equality of opportunity for all staff, patients and other service users. Our Race Equality Scheme (RES) and Action Plan (available on the Trust’s intranet and website) are at the heart of the drive to achieve this and since producing our first RES in May 2002, as part of our general equality strategy, a great deal has been achieved. We recognise that an ethnically diverse workforce, represented at all levels and grades, is central to the delivery of fair, modern services and it is encouraging therefore to be able to show that the ethnic composition of our workforce broadly matches that of the local population. Similarly, in relation to disability, we have continued to be accredited to use the “Positive about Disabled People” two ticks symbol.
Wards
Our second Annual Staff Awards ceremony was a huge success with the A&E team scooping the Chief Executive’s Special Prize in recognition of its work in meeting the new four-hour wait target, thus improving the patients’ experience of their visit to A&E. Watford General Hospital’s TLC nursery celebrated its first birthday in May 2004 and a new 48-place TLC nursery opened its doors to parents and children at St Albans City Hospital. Meanwhile, plans are moving ahead for a nursery at Hemel Hempstead General Hospital.
The Trust became one of the first Trusts in the country to be awarded the prestigious ’Practice Plus‘ level of Improving Working Lives. To achieve ‘Practice Plus’ the Trust has done a great deal of work, enabling staff to benefit from all elements of Improving Working Lives, including access to training and development, excellent childcare initiatives, support for carers, equal opportunities, flexible working and flexible retirement. The externally assessed award evidences the fact that the Trust policies are meeting the needs of its workforce and are well prepared to meet the forthcoming changes to the law on discrimination etc.
Recruitment and Retention
Recruitment and retention of staff has always been a challenge for the Trust, given its proximity to London and the high cost of living. As an employer, we need to attract the best possible range of applicants to vacancies, develop the skills of the workforce as a whole and remove any barriers to equal opportunities. Our aim is to be an organisation where all staff, whatever their differences, feel valued and have a fair and equitable quality of working life, where differences between individuals are accepted and the benefits that diversity brings are clearly recognised. Fair employment practices go hand in hand with high performance and service delivery.
This year has seen further improvements across all areas of recruitment and retention, but especially in nursing and midwifery where the success of the previous years has continued with our turnover of nursing and midwifery staff falling to 14.9% compared to 25.4% in 1998. In the past five years the Trust has recruited over 600 new nurses, half of whom came from overseas. Our Return to Practice and Adaptation courses continue to be the envy of many other Trusts and our two-year multi-professional cadet scheme has proved hugely successful in giving young people a stepping-stone into health service careers. In the past four years, sixty Health Care Assistants and ten cadets have progressed to nurse training.
Agenda for Change
The year has also been very challenging in terms of taking forward the NHS pay modernisation agenda, but in partnership with staff representatives the Trust has successfully implemented the new consultant contract and begun the implementation of Agenda for Change for all other professions. The Chief Executive and other Executive Directors are appointed by the Trust in accordance with DoH guidelines and local policies. The appointments are substantive and may be terminated in accordance with statutory provisions and local policies. The Chairman and Non Executives are appointed by the Secretary of State for a fixed term.
Occupational Health Service
The Trust provides an in-house Occupational Health service, available to all staff which is supplemented by a confidential counselling service. Over the course of the year, further progress has been made against the action plan agreed by the Risk Committee, following the routine inspection by the HSE in November 2003.
