Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (DCH) has pledged to do more to ensure it is a fully inclusive employer following the publication of the latest NHS National Staff Survey results.

The annual survey gives an important insight into what it's like working in NHS trusts throughout the country and the results are used to review and improve staff's working lives.

These latest results cover 2020 so the Covid-19 pandemic has meant the year has been far from 'business as usual' for the NHS workforce.

However, the NHS Staff Survey has measured staff experience in a consistent way to previous years with the same methodology, timings and questions to maintain comparability of the data and allow NHS organisations to compare question responses and theme scores to life before Covid-19.

DCH scored above or the same as the national average for all 10 key themes in the 2020 results – equality, diversity and inclusion; health and wellbeing; immediate managers; morale; quality of care; safe environment; violence; safety culture; staff engagement and team working.

A total of 1,358 members of DCH staff completed the survey, representing 46 per cent of staff. Positive highlights included 90 per cent of respondents feeling their role makes a difference to patients and service users; 91 per cent feeling trusted to do their job and 89 per cent feeling encouraged to report errors, near misses or incidents.

Of the respondents, 88 per cent feel the organisation acts fairly with regard to career progression and promotion, regardless of ethnic background, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or age. However, the trust's overall score for the theme of equality, diversity and inclusion was lower than 2019 and this is now the focus of a major piece of work for the organisation.

Dorset County Hospital's chief executive Patricia Miller said: "We have been actively encouraging staff to use their voice to speak up about their experiences of discrimination in the workplace. We have listened and have told them we will take action so they have rated us as a good employer – but now we have to back that up by doing what we said we would do.

"We have already embarked on a review of the culture of the organisation and are launching a wide-reaching programme of work around inclusion.

"Our aim is to make Dorset County Hospital a place where everyone feels welcomed and valued. We will not tolerate discrimination in any form and we are committed to creating a culture of inclusion with fairness, equity and equality at its heart."

Forthcoming initiatives at the trust will include a mandatory inclusive leadership programme and a BAME staff development programme.

You can read the full Staff Survey results for Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust here.

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