Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust – bullying and harassment policy
| Company name | Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust |
|---|---|
| Sector | Public health |
| Number of employees | Over 5,000 employees |
| Type of workforce | Medical professionals and healthcare administrators |
What issue was the organisation facing?
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest and busiest Trusts in the north of England with an annual budget of over £300 million, over 5000 staff and almost one million patients being seen every year.
The Trust recognised that although they did not have a specific issue with health and well-being, a proactive approach that invested in employee well-being made good business sense, not only in terms of improving performance, raising morale and reducing stress, but also in making the Trust a more attractive place to work, aiding retention and improving overall performance.
What action did the organisation take?
The Trust decided to develop a confidential peer support service to support staff. The fair play scheme was developed as a confidential advice service for staff. Volunteers were recruited and trained to provide impartial advice. The aim was to work towards having a higher success rate in resolving concerns via an informal process and improve staff morale by addressing issues quickly and efficiently. In addition it was hoped that the scheme would prevents most issues from going through a formal process thus reducing the cost of an investigation and stress on the parties directly involved, including any witnesses.
Positions for fair treatment advisors were advertised within the Trust and all staff interested in the position were interviewed. As well as providing advice to individuals, advisers were given the remit to meet as a network to identify common concerns. This contributes to the development of positive and preventative action to improve communications and relationships between and amongst staff.
The scheme consists of named, trained volunteers. Employees with a concern can contact an advisor by email or phone. The advisor then decides on the best way to deal with the issue and either responds over the phone, by email or arranges to meet the employee to discuss it.
The advisors are the first point of contact and their role is to confidentially discuss concerns and provide guidance on polices as well as signposting to internal and external support mechanisms.
The scheme provides a way of addressing complaints and concerns in a professional, timely manner with sensitivity. Dealing with concerns in the early stages can also prevent the workplace environment becoming poisoned or formal action being taken.
What has been the impact of implementing health interventions?
The scheme was formally launched in March 2009. Although it is still early days, evidence already suggests the scheme:
- allows parties to work together in a respectful, safe and open environment
- assists the parties in arriving at a mutually agreed resolution
- promotes communication and cooperation
- allows the parties involved to control the decisions that affect their lives
- benefits others involved by reducing conflict
- is confidential and avoids public disclosure of personal problems
- has shown it is crucial to use a variety of communication methods to get your message across effectively including staff leaflets, articles in staff newsletters and internal bulletins, union communications and publications including newsletters, branch meetings and websites.