CEO: We have ‘hurt and let down’ our staff

A hospital group CEO says its leaders have “managed to let people down” and, in some cases, “disconnected” from their staff, in response to very poor NHS Staff Survey scores. 

The Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group CEO’s comments in an all-staff briefing email acknowledge the significant morale problems across the three trusts, which are undergoing a major restructure.

Lesley Dwyer was appointed group CEO and took the group live last year. It comprises Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, James Paget University Hospitals, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn Foundation Trusts.

The results showed a year-on-year decline in staff satisfaction across all three trusts. Professor Dwyer told HSJ  this was “from a starting point that was already too low”.

“This is not the experience we want for our people, and it is not the standard they deserve,” she said.

In a note to staff seen by HSJ, Professor Dwyer cited “re-structures and transformations… changes in leadership combined with waiting list, service, and financial pressures, pressures on beds, strikes etc”, adding: “It’s no wonder so many of you tell us you are weary.”

She added: “But for me, these results speak even more deeply than that – I feel that somehow, despite the best of intentions, I/we have managed to let people down. These results show we have disconnected our people from the very purpose of the NHS organisations they work for and, in some cases, from the people who lead them.”

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Source: HSJ, 13 March 2026

Further reading on the hub:

• Patient Safety Learning’s response to the NHS Staff Survey Results 2025