Creation of a Team Canvas

Creation of a Team Canvas featured image

Creation of a Team Canvas

Sue Greenwood

Modern Matron

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Winner 2020 CHA Innovation and Best Practice Award for improving Staff Experience and Well Being

Summary:

Camborne Redruth Community Hospital sits within an area of high deprivation and unemployment, life opportunities are limited and the local population forms a large part of the staff who works within our hospital.

As a Matron new to this hospital and a fairly new Senior Management Team we wanted to focus on areas within the service that we could influence and hopefully improve. The team came together to review the current quality indicators and to identify areas for change, adopting a model that in part relied on the engagement of the staff within the hospital.

Changing a culture isn’t a quick fix neither is recognizing we had areas of poor practice and behavior that needed to change:

•       Reducing high sickness and absence levels across teams

•          Driving up quality and outcomes for people

•          Adopting a learning culture

•          Learning to Listen, Listen and Listen again with fascination

•          Ensuring learning was embedded with real change

•          Recognizing and valuing every member of staff

•          Provide a platform for change bottom up

•          Changing the culture from blame to gain

•          Investing in our people

•          Adopting Compassionate Kindness

•          Celebrating every success, no matter how small or large

•          Creating a staff garden area

•          Valuing everyone’s contribution and role

We decided as a team to adopt a number of opportunities that supported improved communication within and across the teams.

As a result of all the work dedication and tenacity of all team members we feel the atmosphere in which we work bears no resemblance to what it was, staff feel able to speak up and do have a voice.

•          Actively participating in any change has taken time but is now well established amongst the staff

•          Our audit and plaudit outcomes have all been recognized by our organization.

•          Staff within the hospital are proud of their belonging and share in the identity of Camborne Redruth Community Hospital.

•          Attracted new talented staff to join our team

•          Established a nurturing Senior Management Team who support one another and their teams.

•          In our endeavors we have created training and learning opportunities for all staff.

Background:

It is fair to say that the Hospital and the service that was being delivered had much strength; however, it also had areas where we knew we could improve and develop. There were missed opportunities for learning from incidents and our team members were feeling disengaged and to some degree fatigued with the change in different leaders over a short period of time. This compounded the situation as any change we felt needed a dedicated team to focus collectively, and agree a way forward together.

The hospital environment is challenging in that the building is mid-18th Century with add on in the 1960 and 1980’s.

The original building which houses the two wards was a workhouse and is still remembered as one from members of the local community.   

Teams had recently transferred from one organization to another which was much bigger and had Foundation Trust status.

In any old building its inevitable that works will need to be carried out so teams especially from the wards have had to also deal with multiple decants to other areas of the hospital. This has had a negative impact on our staff.

Description:

  • Brought teams together to ask what’s important to them at home and at work
  • Cultural barometer which gave us an indication of how staff were feeling which then lead to actions from the feedback we received.
  • Introduced the Trust Speak up Safely Guardian weekly initially this then moved to monthly or by request if needed sooner.
  • Introduced cross fertilization of staff, in that we asked staff to cover different teams. This enabled a better insight into how other teams/departments/Wards functioned thus creating opportunities for shared best practice.
  • We wanted to create a safe and tranquil space for our staff to relax and “Take Five” to support emotional mental and healthy wellbeing. Staff engaged with us and many plants and other garden furniture were donated for everyone’s use. 
  • We took teams away so they had time to focus on how they wished to develop, this was done away from the Hospital to enable a safe space and for staff to feel relaxed and that the investment of time was quality.
  • Commissioned a Hospital Badge which is worn with pride across the hospital.
  • Created a Hospital Choir

Outcome and Impact

  • Reduction of sickness and absence across all teams
  • No HR processes currently active
  • Planned Away Days for all teams on-going
  • Recruitment of substantive member of staff especially Registered Nurses
  • Our General Support Workers have established a voice and regularly contribute to the majority of meetings
  • Due to current Covid-19 guidance sadly we have stopped with our Choir but plan to re-start when its safe.
  • Introduced a hospital model for sharing any learning
  • SURFING meeting

Investing in education and learning for every staff member Influencing a positive change in culture within a Community Hospital setting that supported and promoted a collaborative approach to listen to all staff groups within the hospital with a vision to champion high quality care, enabling and facilitating a bottom up approach for everyone to contribute and to feel able and safe to positively challenge poor practice behaviour and champion agility, kindness, pride and compassionate kindness.

The work started in June 2018 and goes on to date. Cultural changes do take time and we see this as never ending as we support one another through the recent Pandemic and transformations to service and patient clinical pathways. There were many challenges at the start none more so than a fear of standing out or speaking up from a large number of staff. The journey started off very slowly as building trust was pivotal. We had moments of joy but more moments of frustration nonetheless the tenacity and strength of the compassion comradery within the Senior management team provided the impetus to continue. Meeting, trusting and supporting one another was absolutely central in enabling each other to stay on track and draw from all of the skills and strengths of each member of the team. Developed a Team Canvas and reintroduced a Hospital badge with a hope and wish to promote a sense of identity and pride.

Cornwall does not have a large BAME workforce however every member of staff brings with them an individual diversity element in how they communicate, view life which in turn form values, behaviors and outlooks.

Camborne Redruth area is one of the highest areas of deprivation within Cornwall, unemployment and poor health and social outcomes are high. This impacts on the workforce and in the people we see within our services.  The culture we have nurtured within the Hospital champions every single person’s contribution and values the uniqueness of our staff. 

Feeling a sense of belonging and connection is important to all of us so to attempt to bring a sense of belonging and pride we commissioned collectively a Hospital Badge.

We were fortunate to have received the Hospital and Training badge of a nurse who had previously worked within the hospital in the 1960’s. The decision to re-create the badge was unanimous and staff from across all disciplines all contributed so they could wear the badge with pride.

       

For further information contact: [email protected]

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