A third of staff at the NHS trust that runs the BRI and Bristol Children’s Hospital do not feel 'safe' to speak up about dangerous practices or issues such as racism and bullying, a damning report reveals. And only half have confidence that University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Trust (UHBW) would actually do something about it if they did.
Some courageous hospital workers who do raise concerns are labelled as “troublemakers or agitators”, which further undermines the organisation’s Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) campaign because it stops others from bothering in the first place, a UHBW board meeting heard. Bosses called the report “uncomfortable reading”, accepted its findings and vowed to change the trust’s culture by listening better to staff.
The annual FTSU report said: “The latest NHS staff survey results show a further decline in the percentage of respondents who felt safe to speak up and had confidence in the trust’s response if they did speak up. Only two thirds of the staff who responded said they felt safe to speak up and just over half felt confident in the trust’s response.
