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Recent inquiries and national reports including from the Lucy Letby case show there has never been a more important time to ensure NHS staff feel free to speak up and listened to. However this is in contrast to the NHS Staff Survey published in March 2023 which found that there were declines on all measures relating to raising concerns, both relating to raising concerns about clinical safety and speaking up more generally. The greatest deterioration was seen in the percentage of staff who would feel secure raising concerns about unsafe clinical practice. 61.5% feel safe to speak up about anything that concerns them in their organisation…48.7% were confident that their organisation would address their concern and 71.9% would feel secure raising concerns about unsafe clinical practice with 56.7% saying they were confident that their organisation would address their concern.
“This year we have had stark reminders of why all efforts to improve the Speak Up culture in health, including the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian route, are so essential for patient safety.”
Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, National Guardian for the NHS, 16 November 2023
“Reports from the Lucy Letby case, Donna Ockenden and Bill Kirkup, and inquiries into University Hospitals Birmingham and others have shown why Freedom to Speak Up has never been more important.”
Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, National Guardian for the NHS, 16 November 2023
“Embracing Freedom to Speak Up by listening to and acting on the suggestions and concerns of workers is critical for learning and improvement. The events surrounding the terrible crimes of Lucy Letby are an important reminder of how vital it is for organisations to have a culture in which workers feel safe to speak up about anything that gets in the way of delivering safe and high-quality care. Managers and senior leaders must be welcoming of speaking up and be ready to listen and act on what they hear.”
Maria Caulfield MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy 16 November 2023
This conference will enable you to:
Network with colleagues who are working to support people to speak up and raise concerns
Reflect on national developments and learning
Achieve a Culture of Candour & Freedom to Speak Up
Establish effective leadership and management behaviours
Understand the legal context
Develop your skills in ensuring all staff within the trust feel able to raise any issues or concerns, or challenge any wrongdoing
Learn from outstanding practice in developing the role of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian
Identify key strategies for celebrating diversity in the workforce and ensure challenge when diversity is not embraced
Understand how you can improve culture and psychological safety
Ensure an effective response to raised concerns, and ensure change occurs
Deliver transformational change of the culture of fear and blame
Understand how technology can support freedom to speak up
Self assess and reflect on your own practice
Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes
