Staff say this is a great place to work

We have come out top in a number of areas in the 2011 NHS national staff survey – an annual survey which asks staff what they think about their place of work.

The 2011 results show that staff satisfaction at Guy’s and St Thomas’ is continuing to improve. Nationally, 51% of staff would recommend their organisation as a place to work. 77% of our staff who completed the survey would recommend working here. This is an improvement on the earlier surveys - up from 73% in 2010 and 71% in 2009.

An impressive 85% would also be happy for a friend or relative to receive treatment here. This is an improvement on the 2010 survey, and significantly above the national average.

The results of the survey help us to identify ways we can improve the working lives of staff. We have improved in many areas since the survey last year, and are now in the best 20% of acute trusts in England for 22 out of the 38 key scores.

“We’re extremely proud that our staff not only enjoy working at the Trust, but they also think highly of the care we provide to our patients," said Ann Macintyre, Director of Workforce. “We listen closely to what staff have to say, and we have used their suggestions to improve on a number of areas since 2010.”

The survey results show that this work has paid off – we are now within the best 20% of hospitals for commitment to work-life balance. “There is excellent proactive work being carried out at the Trust, including the health and well-being programme, to build staff engagement and improve worklife balance,” added Ann.

“It's important to build on the progress we’ve already made, and there are areas where we can improve; such as reducing the number of staff working extra hours, and making staff aware of flexible working options. We will continue to use the results from our surveys to improve the working lives of staff, and in turn improve the quality of the service we deliver.”