Today (8 June 2023), the National Guardian’s Office published the results of its analysis of the questions relating to speaking up in the 2022 NHS Staff Survey. The Freedom to Speak Up sub-score fell from 6.5 in 2021 to 6.4 this year, equating to a 1.5% change in responses to the speaking up questions – a decrease in over 9,000 workers’ confidence to speak up.
Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, National Guardian for the NHS, expressed her concern over the decline in workers’ confidence to speak up, saying: “It is not acceptable that two in five workers responding to the NHS staff survey do not feel able to speak up about anything which gets in the way of them doing their job. These survey responses show us that there is a growing feeling that speaking up in the NHS is futile – that nothing changes as a result.”
She added: “Failing to address this sense of futility risks compounding the problem and having a direct impact on patient safety, with three in ten feeling unsafe to raise clinical concerns.”
The results of the NHS Staff Survey have shown a decline in confidence to speak up since the pandemic, with a marked fall in how safe people feel to raise a clinical concern. The corresponding question about whether people feel that if they spoke up, their concerns would be addressed has also shown a deterioration.
The National Guardian’s Office is urging leaders and managers to listen up and follow up on speaking up, in order to bring improvements.
A spokesperson for the National Guardian’s Office commented: “When workers speak up about concerns, including the impact of understaffing and a crumbling infrastructure, their leaders themselves may struggle to be heard when trying to address these concerns. It is important that these issues are addressed in order to ensure workers have the resources they need to deliver the high-quality care they want for their patients.”
Analysis from the National Guardian’s Office today revealed a decline in NHS workers’ confidence to speak up, with a marked fall in how safe people feel to raise a clinical concern. The corresponding question about whether people feel that if they spoke up, their concerns would be addressed has also shown a deterioration, creating a worrying picture of potentially increasing disillusionment and a feeling that speaking up is futile.
Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, National Guardian for the NHS, said: “It is not acceptable that two in five workers responding to the NHS staff survey do not feel able to speak up about anything which gets in the way of them doing their job. These survey responses show us that there is a growing feeling that speaking up in the NHS is futile – that nothing changes as a result.”
The National Guardian’s Office is calling on leaders and managers to take action, to listen up and follow up on speaking up in order to bring improvements. They warned that failing to do so could have a direct impact on patient safety, with three in ten feeling unsafe to raise clinical concerns.
A spokesperson for the National Guardian’s Office commented: “When workers speak up about concerns, including the impact of understaffing and a crumbling infrastructure, their leaders themselves may struggle to be heard when trying to address these concerns. It is important that these issues are addressed in order to ensure workers have the resources they need to deliver the high-quality care they want for their patients.”
The Freedom to Speak Up sub-score in the 2022 NHS Staff Survey has declined from 6.5 in 2021 to 6.4 this year, equating to a decrease in over 9,000 workers’ confidence to speak up. This continues the fall in NHS workers’ confidence to speak up since the pandemic.
Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, National Guardian for the NHS, concluded: “Failing to address this sense of futility risks compounding the problem and having a direct impact on patient safety.”
The National Guardian’s Office is calling on leaders and managers to take action to ensure that NHS workers have the resources they need to deliver the high-quality care they want for their patients.
For more information or interviews contact: comms@nationalguardianoffice.org.uk
Today (8 June 2023), the National Guardian’s Office published its analysis of the questions relating to speaking up in the 2022 NHS Staff Survey, revealing a decline in workers’ confidence to speak up since the pandemic.
The Freedom to Speak Up sub-score decreased from 6.5 in 2021 to 6.4 this year, equating to a 1.5% change in responses to the speaking up questions and a decrease in over 9,000 workers’ confidence to speak up. The corresponding question about
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