Patient safety
worked a number of shifts on the same ward, and this had enabled them to demonstrate their abilities to the wider team. As well as examining organisational culture in
relation to temporary workers, the investigation looked how temporary staff are allocated to teams and the processes for staff induction and orientation. The report concludes with one
recommendation to the National Guardian’s Office. Building on the work they have done for other staff groups, HSSIB have recommended they work with relevant groups and individuals to identify all the barriers that prevent temporary staff from speaking up and develop ways to address those barriers. The aim of the recommendation is to help all workers to contribute to patient safety improvements without fear of reprisal.
Local-level learning Healthcare providers can use the findings from this investigation as prompts to help them consider how to integrate temporary staff into their workforce. l How do you enable temporary workers to feed back on their experiences of working in your organisation, to understand the organisational culture in relation to this group?
l How do you ensure that temporary staff know how to speak up and that they feel safe to raise concerns?
l How do you ensure that you are clearly advertising the skills required of a temporary worker to fill a rota gap?
l How do you ensure that the skills and experience of temporary workers are taken into account when redeployments are being considered?
l How do you work with providers of temporary staff to understand the skills and experience of temporary workers so they can be used most effectively?
l How do you ensure that temporary workers can access electronic systems and physical environments that are vital to providing safe care?
l How do you ensure that inductions are carried out and that the time needed to complete local inductions is factored into the workload of staff?
l Do you have a dedicated and accountable professional lead for ensuring that local inductions are carried out?
Matt Mansbridge, Senior Safety Investigator
said: “Through the course of our investigation it was troubling to hear of the widespread discrimination against temporary staff and the negative impact this has on their daily lives. Sadly, some told us they had experienced racist
behaviour during their time in the NHS. “Trusts and national organisations expressed
that they are aware that many temporary staff experience discrimination and that this prevents them from talking freely. We heard from staff and agencies that the cultures and attitudes that had developed in organisations left them feeling isolated, unable to integrate with teams they are working with and feeling fearful when patient safety issues arose, or incidents occurred. As we found in a previous report, temporary staff have valuable insight to share and without that, opportunities for patient safety improvements could be lost, as we saw in some of the serious incident reports we analysed. “An inclusive environment which encourages speaking up can only be achieved when barriers up are reduced or removed entirely. It is clear that much change is needed, especially as discriminatory narratives and perceptions around temporary staff are not only seen but also tolerated across the NHS. The recommendation we have made is a step in the right direction, aimed at helping all workers to contribute to patient safety improvements without fear of reprisal.” To view the full report, visit:
www.hssib.org.uk
About the HSSIB
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) came into operation on 1 October 2023. It is a fully independent arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care, which investigates patient safety concerns across the NHS in England and in independent healthcare settings, where safety learning could also help to improve NHS care.
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