ONE of the main topics of discussion from the Trust’s CQC inspection report was the culture of the organisation.
It was clear there was work to do to make this a better place to work for all staff and this has become a major focus. We began this work with the Big Conversations we held, and will continue to hold, and we have put in a programme of regular senior leadership visits across all areas. We have also held a medical engagement survey to understand where we are at the moment and how we can make improvements for everyone and a big thank you to everyone who has supported these events so far.
In addition we have now agreed a Compassionate Leadership and Just Culture strategy which sets out the Trust’s approach to how it will transform its culture to one of compassion, trust, learning and accountability. Put simply, compassionate leadership is about being kind to each other and sustaining the NHS as a culture of high-quality compassionate care requires compassionate leadership at every level.
To build a culture of trust, fairness, learning and accountability, the Trust is also adopting a ‘Just Culture’ methodology when dealing with incidents and employee relation procedures. Put simply, ‘Just Culture’ is about ‘nipping things in the bud’ and treating people fairly. It does not mean taking the ‘soft option’. It’s about creating the conditions – through consistently listening, understanding, empathising and helping – to make it possible to have robust performance management and truthful conversations. This strategy complements other strategies such as the Workforce Transformation, Employee Engagement and the Health and Wellbeing Strategies as we aim to create a climate where staff are expected to be kind to each other whilst also holding each other to account for inappropriate behaviour. It also means staff will be supported to be open about mistakes allowing valuable lessons to be learnt so that the same errors can be prevented from being repeated.
You will hear a lot about compassionate leadership and just culture over the next few months so please consider how it relates to you in your role and as an individual to help make this a great place to work.
Celebrating our Blue Skies charity
FRIDAY saw the official opening of the Trust charity, Blue Skies Hospital Fund’s new offices in the main entrance at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
The new offices, which we re opened by charity patrons Bobby Ball and his wife Yvonne, have made a big difference in terms of the visibility and promotion of the charity which does great things for the Trust in providing much needed funds to help us improve the quality and safety of care that we deliver.
The charity does a great job has made great strides over the past couple of years and has made a big difference to people’s lives. In the past Blue Skies have been seen to possibly save lives indirectly, but this changed last year when they purchased nine of the world’s smallest heart pumps that keep patients alive whilst having a life saving heart bypass. Blue Skies is also getting set to celebrate its 25th anniversary so look out for the events they will be holding throughout the year. Please look at giving them your support as all the money raised does go back into helping our patients.