This report is the outcome of a six-month study into workplace culture at Whittington Health NHS Trust. Central to the study is an exploration of perceived bullying and harassment and their relationship, if any, to ideas of a common workplace culture.
It is important to emphasise that this is a study and not an enquiry. The researchers have no jurisdiction to suggest sanctions or actions, instead to report and advise on what they have found and to make any recommendations where appropriate.
The study deployed a mixed-methods approach of staff survey and over 120 hours of one-to-one interviews mainly resulting in contacts generated by the survey. This is a cross-sectional study – a snapshot in a moment in time from a sample of staff at Whittington Health NHS Trust.
This Review was set up in response to continuing disquiet about the way NHS organisations deal with concerns raised by NHS staff and the treatment of some of those who have spoken up.
The aim of the Review was to provide advice and recommendations to ensure that NHS staff in England feel it is safe to raise concerns, confident that they will be listened to and the concerns will be acted upon.
Keith Conradi, Chief Investigator at the Health Service Investigation Branch, presented at the Patient Safety Learning Conference on HSIB’s challenges and achievements in its first year.