Annual Report and Accounts - The Great Western Hospital

9 STAFF SURVEY REPORT
9.1 Our staff
The Trust is committed to being an exemplar employer and strives to ensure that all employees reach
their full potential at work. We have also focused on ensuring that our staff have the right knowledge
and skills to provide high standards of care to our patients and their carers but also the right
behaviours so that we work as an effective team to get things done.
We have also been working towards improving how we recognise the hard work, loyalty, commitment
and successes of our workforce and have put in place a number of mechanisms such as a monthly
and annual award scheme as part of our strategy.
Our average headcount for 2011/12 was 4,800. This equated to an average whole time equivalent of
3,911.33. For the two months prior to the June merger our average was 3,332 staff (2,756.64 wte)
and for the 10 months after the merger, our average was 5,094 staff (4,142.27 wte).
9.2 Staff satisfaction
It is recognised across the NHS that a more satisfied workforce provides better patient care and the
Trust places a great deal of emphasis on exploring ways to improve and enhance motivation and
morale so that staff are satisfied in their work. To help the Trust understand how staff are feeling, the
results of the annual staff survey commissioned by the Care Quality Commission are examined to
identify any areas for improvement.
In 2011, the Trust transferred 1,900 staff from Wiltshire Community Health Services, consequently
the sample included employees who would have not worked for the Great Western Hospitals
Foundation Trust the previous year. The transition and integration took a considerable amount of
focus and it is positive to note that staff motivation at work increased over the previous year’s results
despite the organisational changes. The Trust is now in the best 20% for all acute trusts for staff
motivation.
Our staff scores place the Trust as fifth across 20 Acute Trusts in the South West of England.
The 2011 survey results show that staff experience has improved in the following areas:-
• Staff motivation at work
• The percentage of staff agreeing that their role makes a difference to patients
• The percentage of staff experiencing discrimination at work in the last 12 months
Staff have reported no areas of deterioration since 2010.
Overall, the Trust is measured against the four staff pledges from the NHS Constitution with an
additional theme of staff satisfaction. These indicators break down into 38 key findings and results
show that GWH has improved on 4 key finding areas since 2010 and is average or above average for
31 areas as benchmarked against other Trusts. However, there are seven key findings areas where
the Trust is below average. Last year we were below average in nine areas.
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