Recruiting more staff, reducing waiting times for treatment and creating a better working environment are all part of a new plan to make improvements at Nottingham’s hospitals.
When he took up the post as Chief Executive at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) in September 2022, after more than 18 years at Nottinghamshire County Council, Anthony May published an open letter in which he set out his intentions for his first 100 days and committed to publishing the findings.
The People First report, published today, sets out NUH’s vision for addressing the challenges it faces and restoring the confidence of the public, stakeholders and regulators.
The report reflects more than 3,000 conversations Anthony has had with staff, patients, volunteers and partners, to really understand what it is like to work for, receive care at and interact with NUH as an organisation.
Speaking about the report’s publication, Anthony said: “It’s difficult to know an organisation until you live and breathe it.
“The best way for me to understand it was to immerse myself in it as quickly as possible.
“When I started the process, it was clear people were hungry to tell their stories.
“The report reflects what people have told us, including their pride and commitment to deliver excellent care and where we must do better.”
He added: “Despite the best efforts of the many thousands of colleagues at NUH and of our partners, patients often wait too long for their care, they are sometimes treated in unsuitable conditions, and a combination of these and many other factors can affect outcomes.
“Added to that, many colleagues report feelings of fatigue and of not being able to reach their professional standards.
“They find this debilitating and stressful. It is an unfortunate truth that some colleagues report experiences that do not fit with the values of a modern NHS organisation. I have received reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination. This behaviour must stop.”
The recommendations in the report respond to three recurrent themes that came out of those conversations, specifically pressures on emergency care and its impact on delays and waiting times (flow through the hospital), ensuring appropriate staffing levels through recruitment and retention, and the need to continue to improve leadership and culture, including responding to identified problems of racism, bullying and harassment.
Anthony added:
“I was appointed to look at things differently and that’s what I’ve tried to do.
“Based on my conversations with patients, partners, and colleagues, it is these three things that are currently stopping us from achieving success.
“Over recent months I have seen many, many examples of incredible compassion, dedication and commitment to deliver the best care, and as I noted when I joined in September, NUH is full of remarkable people doing amazing things every day, people who want to make a difference.
“I hope that through the recommendations outlined in the People First report, we can harness that passion and be in a much stronger position to address our other challenges and restore faith in our ability to deliver, both for patients and colleagues.”
Following the publication of the report today, further work is underway to refresh and realign existing clinical and enabling strategies at the Trust, with strengthened clinical involvement in decision-making.
An overarching plan for 2023 will identify key actions within each strategy, and an appropriate governance process established to track progress, including through sub-committees of the Trust Board. A progress report will go to Trust Board in April.
• NUH Chief Executive sets out major plan for hospital improvements
