Thursday 2nd July 2015. Employees at two out of Surrey’s three NHS community providers, CSH Surrey and First Community Health and Care, will be celebrating being owned by their nurses and therapists on the UK’s annual Employee Ownership Day this Friday, 3 July 2015.
CSH Surrey was the first employee-owned organisation in England to be established by former NHS staff in 2006, with First Community Health and Care following suit in 2012. Their patients are benefiting because when staff, in whatever sector they work, feel ownership for their services, they care more about what they do and how they do it. And this makes a real difference to service users. The word cloud picture summarises the difference that CSH Surrey's employees feel that employee-ownership makes for them.
Professor Jo Pritchard is Chief Executive of CSH Surrey. She says: “We have clear evidence that being employee-owned means our nurses and therapists feel more pride, commitment and motivation, which means better quality care for our patients and families. This is clearly shown in our quality and performance data, and when comparing our annual staff survey results with those of the wider NHS.”
- Patients are positive about CSH Surrey’s services, with an average 96% score in the monthly Friends and Family Test (a national test required of all NHS providers, which asks patients how likely they are to recommend services)
- CSH Surrey’s community nursing teams have enabled more than 90% of patients known to the district nurses to choose to die at home, more than double the national average of 44.5%
- CSH Surrey’s children’s and families team have recently achieved the top Level 3 ‘Baby Friendly’ accreditation from Unicef for their support and education for breastfeeding mothers
- The same service has also been recognised nationally by being named a finalist in the annual Nursing Standard Awards for its campaign to raise awareness and supplementation of Vitamin D
- Results from CSH Surrey's latest employee survey (Oct 2014) show that 89% of its employees believe CSH Surrey is genuinely committed to delivering high quality services. Within the wider NHS, just 68% of staff believe care of patients/service users is their organisation’s top priority (2014 NHS staff survey)
- 99% of CSH Surrey’s employees can see how their work relates to patient care and the same numbers are motivated to make a difference for patients, even if they don’t have direct patient contact. Within the NHS, just 80% believe their role makes a difference to patients
- More than 90% of CSH Surrey employees say their manager is supportive and considers their ideas and suggestions. Within NHS trusts, just 71% say they have supportive managers, and just 76% say their manager considers their ideas
- 92% of CSH Surrey’s employees enjoy their work, compared with just 68% in comparable NHS community trusts
- More than three-quarters of our staff say they value working for an employee-owned organisation and 81% are happy to recommend our healthcare services to friends and family – far higher than the 66% of staff working in the NHS.
Some recent patient feedback includes:
- In early October last year my husband returned home from hospital, following a particularly traumatic medical episode. His return home necessitated regular visits for some weeks from the Dorking District Nursing Team. We would like to record our appreciation of the outstanding care that he received from every member of the team with whom we had contact.
- My 85 year mother was in Dorking Hospital after a fall and I could not fault the care and attention she was given to get her back on her feet again, from the Physio to food and nursing staff. They were all very helpful and even after she went home they sorted out an after care package to keep her safe.
- Having been discharged from Molesey Hospital recently, I have to write as soon as possible to give Molesey my highest commendation and my warmest thanks for a hospital stay that was incomparable. From the care assistants to the most qualified nurses I was cared for in the most loving, caring fashion. Nothing was ever a trouble but interest and encouragement were always present. The steady professionalism of the physios and their quiet but regular insistence on exercise while alone or with them did the trick for me so that I was walking unaided with the coveted green ‘independence’ band earlier than I expected. The soup and the puddings were always excellent and so were our lovely beds with their fresh linen daily – a lovely sight.
- Having been to the New Epsom and Ewell Community Hospital now four times it never ceases to amaze me how wonderful it is there. It is difficult to believe it is an NHS establishment. The staff and nurses are happy as it reflects in their attitude and attentiveness to their patients. The whole hospital is scrupulously clean – you could eat off the floor. The food is top quality. All in all this hospital should be a vanguard for all NHS establishments.
- In a recent letter to the Health Secretary, the Right Honourable Jeremy Hunt MP: My husband was transferred to the New Epsom and Ewell Community Hospital, where there are four neuro beds. The level of nursing care was equal and superior to any treatment we could have received privately.
- I just wanted to thank the nursery nurse at Molesey Clinic for the fantastic support, information and breastfeeding advice she has provided. She is an asset to the CSH Surrey team. Several of my NCT group have also seen her and all have been impressed with her knowledge.
Philip Greenhill, Managing Director of First Community Health and Care, Surrey’s other employee-owned NHS provider agrees co-ownership makes a difference. “We believe there is a strong correlation between our patient experience figures and staff wellbeing. We have over 700 feedback forms each month from the Friends and Family Test from patients telling us their story of our services, with an average of 97% of patients recommending our services. We truly feel this is due to our excellent staff and the voice they have as shareholders in our company to make a difference in our local community."
Employee Ownership Association CEO Iain Hasdell says: “Companies such as CSH Surrey and First Community Health and Care are great examples of the success and engagement that can be achieved in an employee owned environment. The EOA is delighted to work on their behalf to celebrate Employee Ownership Day, and make it easier for other UK companies to follow their lead into employee ownership so that we can reach our target of 10% of UK GDP to be generated by employee owned business by 2020.”
Employee Ownership Day 2015 will raise awareness of employee ownership as an economically strong and balanced business model. Benefits of employee ownership proven in EOA research include increased employee health and well-being, increased productivity and innovation.
- UK employee owned companies have a turnover of around 3% of GDP (over £30 billion) pa.
- Employee-owners have higher levels of job satisfaction, feel a greater sense of achievement and job security and are more likely to recommend their workplace than employees in non-employee owned businesses.
- Employee owned businesses operate in a range of sectors including healthcare, social care, education, transport, manufacturing, retail and professional services.