RJAH leaders go ‘Back to the Floor’ for the day

Senior leaders at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in on the frontline as part of the hospital’s ‘Back to the Floor’ day.

Chief Executive Mark Brandreth spent the morning sorting out the recycling with the Portering team, serving lunch to staff and visitors in the hospital’s restaurant Denbigh’s and shadowing one of the Trust’s Upper Limb Surgeons in Outpatients.

Other leaders also tried their hand at being Healthcare Assistants, Nurses, Housekeepers, Switchboard Operators, Radiologists, Operating Department Practitioners and a number of other roles across the hospital.

The ‘Back to the Floor’ event enabled the Trust’s senior managers to spend time working in a variety of areas, shadowing staff and learning about their work, and how their contribution and area enables the hospital to function on a daily basis.

At the beginning of the day, Mark was guided by Porter Pete Bright, who talked him through what the department does on a daily basis and set him to work sorting out the recycling.

However staff were most impressed by Mark’s shift in Denbigh’s, where he served hot meals to dozens of people, including staff members and visitors to the hospital.

Mark said: “Back to the Floor has been fantastic. It’s been great to spend some time with our great people and getting the opportunity to chat and get to know each other even more.

“It’s also been good because seeing what staff do first hand helps everyone appreciate what everyone else does.

“There are 94 departments in this hospital, and it only works for patients when all of those areas work together.”

In the coming days the managers of the areas that were visited as part of the exercise will receive a one-page letter from senior leaders, feeding back on the highlights of the visit, such as areas of best practice identified or observations of staff going the extra mile, as well as any feedback stating what could be done better.
On the whole, both frontline staff and leaders said they found the exercise enjoyable but also beneficial.

Pete from the Portering team, who spent some of the morning with Mark, said he thought ‘Back to the Floor’ was a positive experience for all staff members.

He said: “I think ‘Back to the Floor’ is a good thing. Other members of staff at the hospital don’t know what other departments do day in, day out, so it’s good that Mark and the other senior leaders spent a bit of time with us, seeing what we do.”