Freedom to Speak Up Guardian Survey 2021 (31 March 2022)

Summary

This report published by the National Guardian’s Office shows the experience of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians amid the continued pressure of the pandemic on the healthcare sector. Although the majority of guardians who responded to the survey were positive about the culture of their organisation, the results highlight a decline in factors that make it easy for staff to speak up, including support from leadership.

Content

Highlights of the survey include:

• The proportion of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians who reported a positive culture of speaking up in their organisation has dropped by five percentage points on last year, to 62.8%.
• There has been a drop in the proportion of guardians who responded to the survey saying that their senior leaders support workers to speak up. This has fallen by nine percentage points on last year, to 71%.
• 10% of respondents said that their senior leaders do not understand the role of Freedom to Speak Up Guardian.