Staff at Liverpool's biggest NHS organisation sent a grim message to senior leaders - who issued an apology over their "deeply unsatisfactory" experiences.
Only 48% of employees at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT), which runs the Royal Liverpool, Aintree and Broadgreen hospitals, said they would recommend their organisation as a place to work in the 2021 annual NHS Staff Survey. That is a drop of 15.8% on the 2020 survey results.
The results to that question put the trust among the worst in its benchmarking group, a list of other trusts of a similar size and workforce to LUHFT, and the worst performer in the North West. Other dire results included only 67% of staff saying they agreed with the statement "care of patients is my organisation's top priority", down from 78% in 2020.
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Only 50% of respondents agreed that the trust was fair in awarding promotions regardless of ethnic background, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age, down from 53.7% the previous year.
The results prompted chairwoman of the trust board, Sue Musson, to circulate a memo among LUHFT's around 15,000 staff members apologising for their experiences. Ms Musson said: "On behalf of the trust board, I want to apologise to everyone that the experience of working at the trust is so deeply unsatisfactory for so many colleagues. I am personally committed to making sure this changes.
"I know that improving your experience of working at LUHFT will also lead to improved safety and better outcomes for the people and communities we serve. The survey results make for difficult reading, and I am particularly concerned that the number of staff recommending the trust as a place to work or to receive treatment has declined, and that the feedback of our disabled and ethnic minority colleagues reflects an unacceptably poor staff experience."
Lawrence Dunhill, bureau chief at specialist NHS news site the Health Service Journal, described the results as "depressing" but gave credit to Ms Musson for not trying to "sugar coat" the results.
He told the ECHO: "These are some really depressing results for a Trust that is desperately trying to turn a corner. According to HSJs analysis, it ranks as the worst acute trust for staff recommending their employer as a place to work in the north-west.
"It's been battered by covid, while also trying to address a whole load of cultural clashes which emerged after the merger of the city's two hospitals. It was encouraging however, that the chair and trust leaders appear to be fronting up to this, without trying to sugar coat what the survey is saying. That's a good place from which to try and move forward."
Ms Musson's memo conceded it "would be wrong to suggest there are quick fixes" to the issues flagged in the survey, but promised a "genuine commitment to listen and learn" and to look at other trusts with the best staff experience scores.
She wrote: "Please accept my sincere apology that the trust is not yet providing a positive staff experience. I look forward to working with you to address your concerns and to build a culture where all colleagues feel valued, supported and proud to work for our trust".
A spokeswoman for LUHFT said the trust had nothing further to add to Ms Musson's memo.
