About the trust
Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) is a small specialist NHS Foundation Trust which has grown steadily over the recent past and whilst still small by NHS standards (circa 950 staff), its size has nearly doubled since the mid 1990s.
Background to the project
The trust, along with others, is facing many challenges including a possible merger, and these additional stresses have inevitably had a knock-on effect on partnership working.
To combat these pressures and to continue improving ways of working together, the trust planned an event with staff side and management to further educate and embed partnership working. By attending the event, managers would better appreciate the benefits of partnership working and understand the importance of releasing staff to participate in it, thereby contributing positively to the overall staff engagement/ communication agenda.
In addition, whilst local employment relations had been good for a long time, staff side representatives struggled to meet all the demands made upon them and not all unions had a local representative. Local management felt that this placed a heavy burden on just a few active stewards and this sentiment was echoed by staff side themselves who welcomed the opportunity to recuit more representatives.
The event’s objectives included:
- Securing additional local representatives from across the organisation to work with the staff side chair and existing representatives
- Securing representation from unions not currently represented, or under-represented
- Improving the engagement agenda.
Project delivery
The event provided information on partnership working to staff and managers and promoted the benefits of becoming a local trade union representative. It was facilitated by a project team led jointly by the staff side chair and head of human resources. Support and guidance was provided by the communications manager and full time union officers were invited to join the event.
In preparation for the event, staff representatives spent a day focusing on a recruitment drive and two days spreading the word around the hospital to raise the profile of staff side representation, to educate staff and managers on the benefits of partnership working and to highlight the need to secure new recruits.
The project outputs
One of the key aims of the event was to provide staff side colleagues with a platform for recruiting new members. Both UNISON and RCN recruited new members as a direct result, and UNISON recruited a new steward.
The trust continually seeks to improve its ways of working for the benefit of staff and patients, and further follow-up meetings are planned to work towards embedding partnership working in all departments.
At an away-day facilitated by the Institute of Partnership Working staff side and managers worked together in groups to identify issues that would benefit and strengthen partnership working. These included reviewing the staff side Terms of Reference which now incorporate the principles of partnership working. The trust’s Facilitation Agreement is currently under review.
The trust is continuing to promote partnership working and further meetings are planned in the future.
Top tips
1. Get full management and staff side buy in for your project
2. Have determination - don’t give up
3. Maintain clear aims and objectives - don’t be vague
4. Keep lines of communication open
5. Have a project plan and keep to it
Further information and contact information:
Sheila Kane, Financial Services and Charitable Funds Manager
Current Chair of Staff Side
Sheilaa.kane@qvh.nhs.uk
01342 414280