About the trust
Medway PCT serves over 250,000 who live within its boundary. It has 1020 full time equivalent staff. Medway Community Healthcare Community is the provider arm of the PCT, which is a social enterprise.
Background
The trust recognised that an increasing amount of time was taken up in resolving disputes and that this had a major impact on key clinical time; long term sickness absence due to stress etc. In 2009 statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures changed to allow organisations to resolve disputes at an early stage through a mediation process.
Project delivery
The project involved the development of a core team of in-house mediators along with an associated practical training event for staff. The project aimed to reduce the effects of stress and enable staff to develop coping strategies for dealing with complaints against them.
The project was developed in collaboration with both the Joint Staff Forum (9 representative bodies) and the Staff Support Service, and as part of the workforce includes the integrated clinical teams colleagues employed by the local authority also have access to the training to enhance the multi-disciplinary partnership working.
As part of the trust’s commitment to helping staff find solutions to emerging issues quickly and in some cases informally in the workplace, a network of staff mediators was established to support the Disciplinary, Grievance and Harassment/Bullying Policies.
A training event was also developed to help staff cope on both a practical and psychological level with any complaint made about them or their professional competency. This event was split into three stages:
Stage one – set up meetings to gain information from staff, managers and others involved in the complaints process to test out the proposals.
Stage two – engage with a theatre company to design and create a dramatic presentation based on the ideas from Stage one.
Stage three – publicise the event to target staff using posters and leaflets designed to promote the campaign.
Project outputs
Staff mediators are able to facilitate mediation meetings for staff and managers involved in disputes before issues escalate and become more difficult to resolve. This saves time and resources and reduces the protracted time that disputes used to take to resolve in some areas.
Appropriate training for staff provided an organisational response to helping staff to accept that complaints are an increasing part of life and that it is unlikely that any member of staff will get through a career without any negative or challenging feedback at some point.
Top tips
- Identify the key decision makers at an early stage of the project so that if plans change, decisions can be made quickly and delays avoided.
- Identify the main method of communication so that all parties involved know how to expect to receive information.
- Keep the key parties involved to a minimum number so that plans and actions can be carried out quickly. Keep the number of meetings required to a minimum so that the parties remain involved and interested.
- Ensure that everyone knows what the ultimate objective is from the outset so that the project is not undermined by any personal agendas.
- Reinforce the mediation message continually and that it is a long term organisational initiative not just another training course.
Further information and contact information:
Diane Riley, Staff Partnership Lead
Driley1@nhs.net
Kim Reynolds, Head of Employee Relations
Kimberley.Reynolds@nhs.net