Trust ranked fourth best in the country
THE NHS Trust that runs Exeter Community Hospital in Whipton has been ranked the fourth best Trust in the country by its own staff, according to the latest nationwide survey.
The annual look at what NHS staff think of life at work, covering 2014, also highlights significant improvements for the Trust since 2013.
The Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust manages Exeter Community Hospital as well as community health and social care services in the city.
According to its staff, Northern Devon ranks fourth out of 138 Trusts in England and first in the South West across the NHS Staff Survey as a whole.
It scored particularly well in the following areas:
• Enjoying their job
• Job satisfaction
• Team working
• Support from their immediate line manager, where the Trust was ranked the best in the country
• Having received recent and relevant training
• Health and wellbeing at work
Dr Alison Diamond, chief executive, said: “These are absolutely stunning results and we are delighted that staff feel so positively about working for us that they put us as the top NHS organisation in the South West.
“Staff experience correlates very strongly with patient experience and we have put a lot of effort into ensuring our staff are aware of the direction of travel of the Trust, feel part of its future and feel supported through the ongoing uncertainty of commissioning, particularly in relation to our community services.
“We know that when staff enjoy their job, it means our patients get better and more compassionate care.”
When compared to other Trusts in England, Northern Devon was:
• The highest scorer in five of the 89 questions
• In the top 10 for a further 27 questions
• In the top 20% of Trusts for three-quarters of all questions
In total, the Trust finished above the median response score in 82 of the 89 questions.
Dr Diamond said: “Of course there is always work to be done and we are grateful to staff for pointing out the new areas we will be working on next year to continue improving their working lives.”
The three areas where the Trust emerged below average for a proportion of staff were:
• Whether patient/service user experience was collected within your directorate/service – 11% said no, compared with a national average of 8%
• Staff reporting that they had put themselves under pressure to come to work in the last three months – 93% answered yes, compared with a national average of 91%
• Whether staff knew what their work responsibilities were – 85% agreed or strongly agreed, compared with a national average of just under 87%
The full NHS Staff Survey results for 2014 can be viewed at www.nhsstaffsurveys.com.
