Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust: A review of the handling of speaking up cases

Within 3 months the trust should revise its new speaking up policy, to ensure it is in line with the NHS Improvement national speaking up policy.

Within 6 months the trust should take steps to ensure all existing and new workers are aware of the contents and meaning of its revised freedom to speak up policy.

Within 6 months the trust should undertake a suitably independent review of the speaking up culture in the service relating to Worker A’s case and take all necessary steps to implement the review’s findings without undue delay. Given the evidence of fear of speaking up in this service, the review should take all reasonable steps to protect individuals’ confidentiality.

Within 6 months the trust should take steps to ensure that its handling of all workers’ cases of speaking up in the service relating to Worker A’s case strictly in accordance with the trust’s revised speaking up policy and procedure, including informing workers how their case will be handled, what support they will receive and providing regular feedback on the progress and the outcome of any investigations. These measures should also include specific and meaningful steps to ensure, in accordance with trust policy, that workers who speak up do not suffer recrimination or disadvantage of any sort for speaking up.

Within 3 months the trust should take appropriate steps to ensure that workers who speak up in the service relating to Worker A’s case, as well as across the trust, are treated in accordance with the trust’s stated values, including with openness, care, compassion and respect.

Within 3 months the trust should take appropriate steps to follow their policies, ensuring that workers who take periods of sickness leave, including in relation to their speaking up, are provided with support upon returning from that leave that is in strict accordance with the values, policies, and guidance of the trust.

Within 3 months the trust should take appropriate steps to ensure that all staff in Worker A’s service with responsibility for supporting workers to return to work from sickness absence are properly capable of implementing the relevant policies and guidance to manage this process.

Within 6 months the trust should ensure that, according to the revised speaking up policy, where workers speak up in confidence, all reasonable steps are taken to respond to the issues raised and that matters are investigated as fully as possible, even where the identities of those speaking up are unknown.

Within 6 months the trust should ensure that, where investigations are undertaken in response to speaking up issues raised by its workers, the trust provides those individuals with feedback regarding the progress of those investigations in accordance with its revised speaking up policy.

Within 6 months the trust should ensure that all workers in the two services to which the case studies relate receive effective communication in respect of the trust’s revised speaking up policy and the role of the trust Freedom to Speak Up Guardian.

Within 12 months the trust should review its communication activities to date and devise and implement a strategy that addresses any gaps identified, accompanied by measures to demonstrate its effectiveness.

The trust continues with its commitment to developing a positive speaking up culture among its workforce by maintaining the support it provides for its Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, including appropriate managerial and emotional support.

Within 12 months the trust should complete its planned actions regarding the implementation of its conflicts of interest policy, to ensure all staff are aware of its purpose and all relevant staff make appropriate declarations, including those relating to conflicting loyalty interests.