“8 out of 10 guardians feel supported by senior management”

The National Guardian's Office has published a report outlining the findings of their first Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) guardian survey.

All NHS trusts are required by the NHS standard contract (2016/17) to nominate a Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) guardian.

The survey finds that a significant amount of progress has already been made, with:

• nearly 9 out of 10 guardians reporting that they are communicating their role internally
• over 8 out of 10 guardians saying they feel supported by their senior management teams and chief executives (with only 3 in 100 reported feeling that they don’t get this support)
• 7 out of 10 guardians saying that their organisations are actively tackling barriers to speaking up.

The report recognises that there is more to be done to ensure the consistency and quality of support being provided in all NHS trusts across the country, and outlines some key recommendations for senior leaders to consider, including:

• allowing ring-fenced time to enable guardians properly to meet the needs of workers
• ensuring all workers, particularly the most vulnerable, have effective routes to enable them to speak up
• enabling boards to hear regularly from their guardian, in person.

The findings have been published following a nationwide survey that took place throughout June 2017.
*Credits - NHS Employers