Trust launches organisational strategy
A vision for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales to be the healthiest half million people in the world has been outlined by hospital officials.
Leaders at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) have also outlined how the organisation has begun a journey to provide the safest and kindest care in the NHS.
Simon Wright, Chief Executive, and Professor Peter Latchford, Trust Chair, outlined the vision as they unveiled SaTH’s Organisational Strategy during briefings to staff on Tuesday at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Simon said: “The strategy sets how we will build on our achievements to deliver a transformation in our own organisation on our journey to provide the safest and kindest care in the NHS.
“At the very peak of our organisational strategy are the patients and their families. We have half a million opportunities every year to make a difference and our vision is to provide each and every patient, and the two million family members who walk through our doors with them, the safest and kindest care in the NHS.”
The organisational strategy was produced to provide a clear direction for the future of SaTH and to make it an organisation that people can be even more proud of. More than 300 members of staff shared their thoughts and ideas for the future of SaTH to help shape the strategy.
Simon said: “During the conversations we asked three key questions: Where are we going? What do we do to get there? How do we get there? What everyone told us was ‘we need to be sustainable’, ‘we want to be efficient’ and ‘we want to be proud about all the wonderful things we do’.
“Strategies have to be something that makes people want to get out of bed in the morning and do their best for our organisation. By listening to what was said during our conversations it became apparent we need to make sure we are open, honest and brave in the approach we take.”
The organisational strategy is made up of six different levels. The foundation level is the Trust Values - Proud To Care, Make It Happen, We Value Respect and Together We Achieve. The Values were developed by staff and patients and represent what the Trust is about and what truly matter within the organisation.
Simon said: “The Values drive our behaviour and I am proud that 130 members of our staff are trained to deliver Values-based interviews. People who want to share our Values are generally happy and therefore want to remain in the organisation.
“The second stage of the strategy is all about our people and delivering values through practice. This isn’t about me, or managers developing ideas in isolation, but focusing on developing people as all of our people make a contribution to the care our patients and families receive.
“We will make our organisation a great place to work. We will ensure that the experience we offer our people is values based, that they feel supported and recognised, able to fulfil their potential, accountable for their responsibility and fully engaged and empowered. Furthermore we aim to become a learning organisation to support our journey to become exemplary.
“Stage three is all about leadership. We want to empower our people to ensure we have exemplary, inspirational and innovative leaders in the future. We need to create a brighter future together and we will be doing this through the launch of our Leadership Academy.
“The Leadership Academy will support and develop leaders at all levels across the organisation by providing them with the tools to do the job. Our academy will be a beacon recognised across the NHS. We will also be establishing a Centre of Excellence as we are already doing things at SaTH that are class leading. By creating a Centre of Excellence we will be able to hold our heads up high and say ‘this is who we are and this is how we at SaTH do it’.”
Change is already being delivered at SaTH through the Trust’s partnership with the Virginia Mason Institute (VMI) and the introduction of lean methodology. Within the last two weeks, 40 members of staff have undertaken ‘Lean for Leaders’ training and more than 1,000 people in the Trust have done work involving VMI.
Simon said: “It is clear that there is no turning back. It is wonderful to watch our staff at Rapid Process Improvement Week Report Outs and see them realise the magnitude of difference they can make. But we need to take ownership of this and that is why we are creating the Transforming Care Institute, which will be launched with further details next month.”
As the strategy nears its peak the fourth stage is the mission - to make Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales the healthiest population on the planet.
Simon said: “Why wouldn’t we want to aspire to be the healthiest population we can be? Half a million people walk through our hospital doors every year so we have a wonderful opportunity to help improve the lives of all of our population.”
The sixth stage of the strategy is the vision – to provide the safest and kindest care in the NHS.
Simon said: “We will be working with all our staff to better understand the actions needed for us to become the safest organisation in the NHS. We also need to deliver our care with kindness, promoting dignity and compassion.”
At the very peak of the strategy are the patients and their families.
Simon said: “They represent our purpose. Everything we do should be centred around them.”
He added: “In the strategy we are describing what we stand for as a Trust. It holds us to account. It is a living document and is designed to keep us on track with delivery as well as ensuring we accommodate new challenges in a way which is consistent with our existing services, values and purpose.
“Our staff, patients and families have helped to shape the strategy. We will be brave in our decisions, sustainable in our actions, place our patients at the centre of everything we do and ensure we become the safest and kindest organisation in the NHS.”
