Culture and Change
Resources and guidance to help build a positive culture and a supportive environment.
Recent reports highlight the links that exist between culture, workforce and patient safety. Workforce issues of incivility, bullying and harassment are seen as being endemic, pervasive behaviours within health care. These behaviours have a negative impact on staff recruitment, retention and overall wellbeing. Given the current workforce pressures seen across the health service, the need to continuously strive to improve culture has never been greater.
NHS Resolution published a report, Being Fair 2, which aims to promote the value of a person-centred workplace that is compassionate, safe and fair when care in the NHS goes wrong.
Bullying in Healthcare
The NHS Long Term Plan recognises that levels of bullying and harassment must come down if the NHS is to achieve its aim of becoming the best place of work and being an employer of excellence.
Furthermore, the People Plan for 2020/21 sets a vision which places a compassionate and inclusive culture at the very heart of the NHS and emphasises that all NHS employees and employers are responsible for tackling bullying and harassment and the importance of creating a civil and respectful culture.
Every organisation should have a strong message on bullying – that is not tolerated in any shape or form and is regarded as gross misconduct within the conduct policy. Creating a working environment where all staff are treated with respect and everyone feels valued is key to the prevention of bullying behaviours.
It is important to have a policy that promotes dignity at work along with a learning and development programme to promote respectful relationships. Proactive initiatives such as values based recruitment, effective and timely appraisals, fair and transparent application of absence management or flexible working policies and raising concerns policies can also contribute to prevention. The prevention and management of work related stress is key to developing dignified working environments.
The NHS Staff Council’s Health Safety and Wellbeing Partnership Group (HSWPG), through partnership working between unions, management and specialist advisors has produced guidance for achieving staff health, safety and wellbeing.
