Freedom To Speak Up Ambassadors (FTSUA) have gone live!

As we all navigate our way through the much-needed cultural changes within EEAST, it is inevitable that people may feel unsettled or disjointed. Quite often, this can manifest in different and sometimes not so positive ways. Ultimately, we are all working really hard to keep our patients and our staff safe and free from harm but sometimes things can get in the way.

There may be times when you as a member of staff or volunteer experience this and would appreciate an informal chat with someone who will keep your confidence and not make a “big fuss” of your concerns. The FTSUA’s are a more localised and immediate point of contact for staff to speak up to about their concerns or if they just want a censor check on how they are feeling.

The FTSU team have recruited and trained a select few individuals as FTSUA’s to be there for you when you need support and guidance.

What will they do?

The ambassadors will:

• Actively listen you without judgement.
• Genuinely thank you for speaking up and provide a safe space for you to talk.
• Signpost you to someone within your local management team, a guardian or another support service for your wellbeing if needed.
• Maintain your confidentiality – they will need your consent to share your concerns with a guardian.
• Support the FTSU team with communication and the wider engagement aspects of speaking up.

What they will not do:

• Share or raise concerns to any manager – unless there is a safeguarding concern.
• Be managing any FTSU cases.
• Keep any notes from your conversation.

There will be support provided to the ambassadors from the FTSU team and we hope this will help to promote speaking up and support you and our hugely busy managers to manage informally manage concerns.

How do I know who they are?

• FTSUA’s will be wearing the green FTSU lanyards to help you to identify them whilst at work.
• Alternatively, please click on the link to locate an ambassador near you. FTSU Ambassadors by area.

What if this is not enough?

If you or the FTSUA feel your concerns are serious and require further support, they will seek your consent to refer you to a Guardian for advice and guidance.

What if I don’t know or trust the FTSUA?

We completely understand that some staff may feel uncomfortable sharing personal information with a peer, so please contact the FTSU team via the details below.

We will be expanding the network of ambassadors to cover more areas so if there is not a FTSUA in your area, please feel free to contacts us.

The Guardians would like to thank all of the ambassadors for their hard work and commitment to speaking up and for the support they are already providing to fellow colleagues.

For further information please contact us via the routes below:

Email: FTSU@eastamb.nhs.uk or

07562 158013 Mike Rampling

07354 163278 Kim Perry

Published 26th July 2023