Objective for 2008/09

To develop an efficient skilled and adaptable workforce.

Barts and The London employs nearly 7,000 staff, and an additional 1,000 are employed by our private sector partner in the new hospitals programme to provide vital non-clinical support services across our hospitals.  Our ability to recruit and retain staff of the highest calibre in all areas is crucial to our ongoing ability to offer patients the best possible care.  To this end, we offer a range of training, development and educational opportunities for staff at all levels.

We work collaboratively with our academic partners, especially those at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry and at the School of Community and Health Sciences, City University (formerly the St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery), to support the effective planning and commissioning of education to meet the changing workforce needs of healthcare organisations across east London in the future.

RAE 2008 confirms Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry as top research institute

The results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirmed Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry as one of the UK’s top four medical schools for quality of research. The Dental School was ranked first equal nationally and Queen Mary, University of London – the School’s parent institution – was ranked 11th nationally out of 130 universities. The RAE is one of the few ways in which the academic quality of UK medical and dental schools can be compared and the results determine research funding and, as a consequence of the excellent RAE outcome for Barts and The London, funding has increased significantly for the coming year - Queen Mary was awarded the third largest cash increase in research funding in the country.

Listening to our staff

Staff can contribute their views and suggestions through a range of different channels. A third of the workforce – 2,153 people – took part in the 2008/09 annual staff survey. The survey is an opportunity for staff to give feedback on many different aspects of working at Barts and The London. Most staff expressed high levels of job satisfaction and good working relationships with colleagues. The survey also highlighted some areas where improvements were needed. Building on work already underway, these will continue to be taken forward this year, including increased access to training and a new appraisal system.

As well as the annual staff survey, there are many other ways for staff to give their views about what they like and don’t like about working at Barts and The London – and to contribute their ideas for how to make the Trust a better place to work.

During 2008/09, several hundred staff from across the organisation took part in open meetings and listening events hosted by the Chief Executive. These were an opportunity for people to find out more about key developments in the Trust, ask questions and make suggestions for how improvements could be made. Staff also contributed to the development of the NHS Constitution through a series of interactive ‘Big Conversation’ workshops.

In addition, many staff members have given their views in consultations on a range of issues, including the Healthcare for London plan, the Trust’s organisational restructuring, and a new appraisal process.

Keeping staff informed

We use a range of channels to ensure that staff are informed about what is going on in the Trust. The home page on our intranet ensures staff are kept up-to-date with the latest developments in the Trust, in addition to detailed information on each of our specialist departmental sites and dedicated pages for nurses and doctors.

A weekly Bulletin is emailed to all staff, supported by hard copies that are sent to wards for staff who do not have easy access to a computer. This includes practical information on training courses, seminars, new policies and procedures, along with social and sporting activities for staff.

Our bi-monthly news magazine – The Link – provides more in-depth coverage of clinical breakthroughs, the Trust’s environmental programme and many other topics. It is widely read by patients and visitors to our hospitals as well as by staff.

All staff are welcome to attend our open Trust Board meetings. Other open meetings about specific subjects are held regularly throughout the year as an opportunity for staff to find out more on key issues affecting the Trust. These complement regular team briefing sessions held at ward and department level.  

Equal opportunities for all

Barts and The London is committed to eliminating discrimination and promoting diversity and equality of opportunity in all we do. It is our policy to ensure that no service user, employee or job applicant is treated less favourably on the grounds of their sex, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, social background, marital status, hours worked, responsibilities as a carer, trade union activities, unrelated criminal conviction, or blood-borne virus status.

We recognise that promoting equality of opportunity and tackling inequality, discrimination and harassment are central to our vision for an open, inclusive listening organisation. This is especially important given the size and diversity of our workforce, as well as of the communities we serve. We are working hard to employ local people from our diverse community and one way of carrying this forward is by having an initiative where certain jobs are highlighted to local hard-to-reach groups within the community.   

We have a single equality scheme (SES) which has recently been agreed through extensive internal and external consultation. The SES looks at the six strands pertaining to equality and diversity, as follows:

• Race
• Disability
• Gender
• Age
• Sexual orientation
• Religion and belief.

A new governance structure will ensure the implementation of any actions that may arise from the action plan. We will carry out equality impact assessments on any new or amended policies/functions. 

Celebrating success

Now in their fourth year, our annual Celebrating Success Awards were presented at a special ceremony in June 2008. 

18 teams were nominated for the Excellence in Teamwork Award and 28 individuals were nominated for the Outstanding Individual Award. In addition, seven teams were nominated for the Team Excellence in Safety Award, which is new this year.

Outstanding Individual Award - Denise McEneaney, Project Manager, Maternity Services

Excellence in Teamwork Award -The Pathology MLA, Rapid Redesign and Reception Team

Team Excellence in Safety Award -Devonshire Ward at The Royal London

Education, training and development

Barts and The London’s ability to recruit and retain staff of the highest calibre in all areas is crucial to our ongoing ability to offer patients the best possible care. To this end, we offer a range of training, development and educational opportunities for staff at all levels.

Barts and The London is committed to ensuring that both clinical and non-clinical staff are valued by recognising their achievements and giving them opportunities to develop their skills and careers to a high standard.

Our dedicated learning and development team offers training and support to ensure that departments have the right staff and skills to enable them to respond quickly to future changes in healthcare provision.

Barts and The London works collaboratively with our academic partners, especially those at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry and at St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery, to support the effective planning and commissioning of education to meet the changing workforce needs of healthcare organisations across north-east London in the future.

Giving staff better access to training

Barts and The London has signed up to the national Skills Pledge to support staff to gain new skills and qualifications. A training needs analysis for staff in Agenda for Change bands 1-4 was carried out in May 2008 to gain a better understanding of training needs and how training can be improved.  The Trust’s first Training at Work Week was also held that month, giving staff a chance to find out more about the learning and development activities available to them.

Improving appraisals

Barts and The London staff and line managers now have the choice whether they want to carry out their annual appraisal online using e-KSF or to record it on a paper document. The new flexibility follows a review of the process with a number of staff across the organisation. The e-KSF tool was introduced in 2007 as a means for recording appraisals online, linked directly to the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) of competencies.

Increasing management skills to give staff the support they need

The first phase in a new leadership development programme was launched in April 2008 to help managers build their people management skills. This includes tailored programmes for clinical and non-clinical managers at all levels.

Trust success in Placement of the Year awards

Nurses and midwives from the School of Community and Health Sciences, City University, have named several wards and services at Barts and The London hospitals as their ‘placements of the year’ across all of the hospitals they have worked at.  Every year, student nurses and midwives from the University are asked to nominate the placements that have offered them the best learning opportunities, the best mentor support and the best environment to learn about caring for patients.  

This year, Gordon Hamilton Fairley at Barts and the Paediatric Critical Care Unit at The Royal London were highly-commended while Helen Raphael at The Royal London was commended, and Rahere at Barts was recommended. Several other areas at The Royal London, Barts and The London Chest were also nominated.