- Conference
- 2014 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 7 December 2013
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
We congratulate UNISON for the work it has done after the publication of the Francis Public Inquiry into care failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust.
It is essential that we continue to prioritise the Be Safe training. We are encouraged that a small number of branches have volunteered to act as early implementer sites to deliver the training locally. We can learn a lot from their experiences. However we have to build on the learning from this to roll the training out across every health branch in the UK. We welcome the opportunity to work with the devolved nations to adapt the training to take account of their different regulatory systems.
Delivering this training at a national, regional and local level should remain a priority for UNISON, if we are to achieve the cultural change in the NHS which Francis described as essential. It’s vital that our members, irrespective of their role, understand the importance of raising concerns at a local level. It is as important that their concern is listened to, believed and acted upon by managers. Employers should see staff raising concerns as golden nuggets which help them to improve the care they provide to patients. Patients have the right to be treated with dignity and respect and be confident that staff will care for them to the best of their ability and raise concerns when something outside their control prevents them from doing this.
Conference calls upon the Health Service Group Executive to:
1)prioritise the Be Safe training and work with regions to ensure it is cascaded fully;
2)monitor its implementation and continue to develop materials which better enable staff to raise concerns;
3)encourage other organisations to endorse this training as a means of normalising staff raising concerns.
Conference calls upon regions to:
a)working with health branches in their regions, including regional education officers, to develop a plan to roll the training out across their region;
b)update Regional Health Committees on its progress.
Conference calls upon branches to work with regional and local representatives to attend the training locally and develop plans to deliver the training across the branch.