Maxine & Matt #3: NHS People Promise - Inclusive & Compassionate

Matt & Maxine continue their discussion on the NHS People Promise, this time focusing on “We Are Inclusive & Compassionate” which highlights bullying and unfair treatment.

Introduction

What are we chatting about today?

The People Promise.

Specifically, “We Are Inclusive & Compassionate”

What is the People Promise?

It grew out of The People Plan, which itself evolved out of the NHS Long Term Plan in Jan 2019.

A guide for how an organisation should invest in and support its staff.

What Does Inclusive & Compassionate Mean?

What the NHS says: “We are Inclusive & Compassionate”:

We do not tolerate any form of discrimination, bullying or violence.

We are open and inclusive.

We make the NHS a place where we all feel we belong.

Identifying unfair treatment:

1. Asking someone to do something they might not be comfortable with

2. Shaming

3. Undermining someone’s work

4. Creating conflict by pitting personalities against each other

5. Discrimination

6. Favouritism

7. Blocking advancement or growth

8. Bullying

What Is Bullying?

- Ben Slater. What is bullying? Humiliates, creates unwanted physical or mental harm. Bullying is “hurtful, repeated, involves the imbalance of power and is intentional.”

- Ben also says “Forms of unfair treatment may fall under legal definitions of harassment or discrimination or victimisation.”

- Ben Slater’s on Linkedin = follow him for his insightful and fun updates

Why Is It Happening?

- “Evidence suggests it is more common at times of change, where there are rigid hierarchies, where leadership is poor and where bullying is unchecked by disciplinary action against those responsible.”

- If resources are tight and staff numbers limited, the circumstances are right for bullying to breed, Maggy Heaton suggests. “The pressure is coming from the Government to the chief exec, who’s putting pressure on the ones below who puts pressure on the ones below them. Eventually, that pressure gets to the very lowest level of the trust. Sometimes people are getting so stressed out, they don’t even realise they’re bullying somebody else. And when bullying becomes embedded in an organisation, it can be difficult to shift. “Really it’s about tackling the culture”

“If we can get to that culture and make someone – the chief exec – responsible for tackling bullying in their organisation, that would be a start.”

- “One quarter of nurses have experienced bullying from colleagues, patients or relatives” Nursing Standard earlier this year.

Costs of Unfair Treatment

- FINANCIAL “Using a spectrum of measures, this paper estimates some of the financial costs of bullying and harassment to the NHS in England. By means of specific impacts resulting from bullying and harassment to staff health, sickness absence costs to the employer, employee turnover, diminished productivity, sickness presenteeism, compensation, litigation and industrial relations costs, we conservatively estimate bullying and harassment to cost the taxpayer £2.281 billion per annum.” (Source)

- RETENTION: Look at our own polls on why people leave: our own poll in August had it in 7th in a ranking of the reasons people leave. An NMC survey from last year had it in 4th place with 18% of people blaming workplace negative culture. (Source)

- RETENTION: “If they feel they are treated fairly and can speak up, they are more likely to be happy and stay in post. (British Journal of Nursing, Vol 30, No 5)

- PATIENT CARE: “Bullying, in particular, severely damages the ability of the person who is being bullied to continue doing their job.” (Our Online Academy coaching course.)

- Discussion around pay (Our Nursing Pay Guide)