RJAH tops national survey for second year in a row

The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) has – for the second year running – topped a national survey for the number of staff that would recommend it to friends and family as a place for treatment.

In the NHS Staff Survey 2015, which was published today, it is revealed that 93% of staff at RJAH responded either ‘Agree’ or ‘Strongly Agree’ in response to the following statement: “If a friend or relative needed treatment, I would be happy with the standard of care provided by this organisation.”

That score is the same achieved by the Oswestry-based hospital in 2014 and sees it share top spot in the list in the latest survey with five other NHS Foundation Trusts – the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire, Queen Victoria Hospital in West Sussex and The Christie in Manchester.

John Grinnell, Acting Chief Executive, said: “I am so proud of the service our staff provide to our patients; both in terms of the quality of care and the clinical outcomes they deliver.

“It is encouraging to see the results of this survey, which show that our staff share that pride and would feel happy recommending our services to their friends and family. It is a result which can give all patients even more confidence in the care and treatment they will receive when they come through our doors.”

The NHS Staff Survey asks wide-ranging questions to employees about how their experiences of working within the NHS, and the results allow Trusts to compare and benchmark themselves with similar organisations.

Other highlights of the 2015 survey where RJAH scores above the average for the 19 acute specialist trusts in the country include:

- Percentage of staff believing that the organisation provides equal opportunities for career progression and promotion (90%)
- Percentage of staff suffering work related stress in the last 12 months (28%)
- Percentage of staff witnessing potentially harmful errors, near misses or incidents in the last 12 months (19%)

The survey also indicates areas where the hospital scores below the average for similar Trusts. For RJAH, key areas for improvement include the percentage of staff reporting good communication between senior management and staff, and the quality of appraisals.

Ruth Tyrrell, Associate Director of Human Resources, said: “This data is very useful to us as it allows us to identify the areas where we are doing well and also highlights areas where there is room for improvement.

“As we do every year, we will go through these results in detail and compile an action plan to ensure we learn and improve.”