South East

Find out more about the South East SPF.

Continue to share and learn best practice and innovation around supporting positive staff experience, health and wellbeing, and cost of living.
Continue to support and input in partnership to the AgiLab research projects and workshops on the delivery and implementation of agile working.
Focus on equality, diversity and inclusion learning and best practice in partnership across the region. Influence and support the response to the recommendations outlined in the Too Hot to Handle report.
Continue to progress partnership working through working groups on three key focus areas: NHS career pathways; just and learning culture; and reducing violence and aggression (including sexual safety and domestic violence).
Share and learn approaches and best practice to support partnership working on the NHS People Promise and NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

In May 2024, we contributed to a workshop on reducing violence and aggression and improving sexual safety hosted by the South West forum, reflecting on progress and sharing solutions and opportunities for region-wide partnership working.
We continued positive and constructive partnership engagement during industrial action.
We refreshed our meeting format to focus on best practice sharing and strategic updates, and we formed task and finish groups focusing on career pathways and just and learning culture.
We have continued to produce six-monthly newsletters to showcase our partnership working achievements.
We welcomed our regional colleagues from NHS England on a regular basis for key engagement and updates.
We looked to maximise opportunities in partnership working to progress the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda, including the recommendations of key reports i.e., Too Hot to Handle.
We played an active role through the agiLab steering group and contributed to the design and delivery of three online workshops in 2023/24.
In collaboration with NHS Employers and the University of Sussex, we have continued to promote and facilitate best practice and research in agile working through academic and practitioner collaboration and knowledge exchange. We worked in partnership on the research study Understanding and reducing tensions between clinical and non-clinical staff in the NHS in relation to agile working, published in November 2023.

Trade union co-chair – David McMullen, Regional Organiser, GMB.
Management co-chair – Caroline Haynes, Chief People Officer, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.
Management co-chair – Sandra Goatley, Chief People Officer, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust.