GOSH statement following further coverage on the Independent’s website today

A further story today on the online newspaper the Independent’s website states our Chief Executive has admitted in two emails to staff that the hospital had “got used to some bad behaviours” and more needed to be done to address bullying and harassment.

At GOSH we believe in being open and transparent with our staff when there are issues that need to be addressed and tackled.

Our full statement below talks about how we openly communicate with staff and the work that has been done to improve staff culture at GOSH.

“It is really important to us that we openly communicate to our staff. Emails too are one of the ways we engage with our staff and we use them not only to let them know when things have gone well but also when things have not.

“Our staff work really hard to provide the best treatment and care for their patients who have some of the most complex health needs but we know that caring for such sick children can also have an effect on culture, how people communicate and how we work.

“Cultural change doesn’t happen overnight, but we are already making good progress in many areas.

"The results of our last staff survey in 2019 show more staff than ever taking part and engagement in the trust's improvement is rising. These results also show we made improvements in seven out of 11 themes compared to the previous year and we saw an increase in our rating for safety culture and health and wellbeing. We are proud of these achievements.

"This year's survey is currently ongoing, but we are already seeing more individual responses from staff, which means that our people feel more engaged in shaping the future of the hospital and making it a great place to work. This is a top priority for the trust.

“Some examples of the work we are doing in this space also include our new People Strategy, Health and Wellbeing Framework, Speak Up for Our Values project and we have increased our ability to listen to staff feedback with routine In Touch pulse surveys. All of these are all about creating an open culture for all our staff.

“We have recruited two new Associate Medical Directors – one for safety and one for wellbeing, leadership and improvement, new quality and safety strategies which clearly set out what we need to achieve in those areas and we’re working collaboratively with independent patient safety organisations to spot any gaps or opportunities in our strategies.”