Case Study: East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust fosters a positive speaking up culture with NHS Employers

Fostering a positive culture for speaking up

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust worked with NHS Employers to tackle a poor speaking-up culture across its 7,000 staff and five main hospitals after the trust had been placed in special measures. The challenge was to improve openness, communication, and staff confidence to raise concerns about patient safety and workplace issues.

NHS Employers supported the trust in building a more visible, open culture through board-led leadership, a dedicated Freedom to Speak Up guardian, regular ward engagement, and strong staff involvement in improvements. The approach helped generate over 100 cases to the guardian since May 2017, improved retention, earned a place in the HSJ/Nursing Times best 100 places to work, and led to noticeably better staff survey results and a more positive climate for speaking up.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust