Clatterbridge scores big in NHS National Staff Survey

The region’s specialist cancer centre has performed strongly in the annual National Staff Survey of NHS staff, achieving several of the top scores for its sector along with improved outcomes on nine of the 10 measures.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust achieved the best scores of any acute specialist trust on four measures.

The four measures are staff satisfaction with their immediate managers; equality, diversity and inclusion; providing an environment where staff felt safe from violence; and providing an environment where staff felt safe from bullying and harassment.

It also recorded significantly improved scores for staff health and wellbeing, an area that has been a high priority in the Trust over the last 12 months as staff continued caring for people with cancer throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared with last year’s survey, the Trust achieved improved scores on nine of the 10 measures and the same score on the tenth. There were no areas where it performed worse than last year.

The National Staff Survey was carried out across the NHS from September to November 2020. There were 17,827 responses from people working in acute specialist trusts. That includes 862 responses from staff at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

Liz Bishop, Chief Executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said:

“Our staff have faced unique challenges over the last year, working incredibly hard in difficult circumstances to continue providing highly-specialist cancer care throughout the pandemic and to open our fantastic new hospital in Liverpool.

“We’re very pleased with the results and plan to keep improving staff experience. We want this to be a great place to work where everyone can develop their potential, deliver great services, and enjoy a supportive team environment that values them as individuals.”

Jayne Shaw, Director of Workforce & Organisational Development at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said:

“Staff health and wellbeing, support from immediate managers and feeling part of a team have been key priorities for us over the last year so it’s particularly gratifying to see the improvements in these areas. We listen carefully to what staff tell us so we can learn from it and keep improving as an employer.

“We’ve focused a lot on staff resilience and on mental health and wellbeing over the last 12 months, with increased support including training and drop-in sessions. This will continue to be crucially important in 2021 and we will be holding forums and workshops with staff to identify other key changes this year that would make this an even better place to work.”