Press release – March 11 2021

2021/007

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 published today, March 11 2021.

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.”

Ends

Note to Editors WVT:

• Wye Valley NHS Trust is a provider of health services across Herefordshire and beyond. The Trust exists to improve the wellbeing, independence and health of the people we serve.
• By working closely with our partners, we can make good our promise to deliver a quality of care we would want for ourselves, our families and our friends.
• With an estimated annual turnover of around £185 million, we employ around 3,000 staff. We aim to build new relationships between our staff, patients, service users and their carers with the wider community.

For further information please contact:

Fiona Gurney, communications officer, or John Burnett, Communication and Engagement Manager, Wye Valley NHS Trust: 01432 372928