Helping you to Speak Up

Freedom to Speak Up - Speaking up at EEAST 

'When things go wrong, we need to make sure that lessons are learnt, and things are improved. 

If we think something might go wrong, it’s important that we all feel able to speak up to stop potential harm.

Even when things are good, but could be even better, we should feel able to say something and be confident that our suggestion will be used as an opportunity for improvement.' National Guardians Office.

Sometimes, we forget this.

At EEAST, we want every member of staff to be aware of how to speak up and every manager to be able to deal with any concerns that are raised to them. The Trust is committed to ensuring that all staff can speak up, in an open and safe environment when they see something that causes them concern, which is why we are introducing new training around speaking up.

What is it?
Three levels of training developed to help staff understand what Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) is. How to speak up and how concerns raised should be dealt with. We are rolling out FTSU training across the Trust. This mandatory e-learning training will be allocated to all staff training profiles over the coming weeks.

Why is this happening?
We recognise and understand that speaking up about a concern that may affect patient care or staff safety and or wellbeing can be a really difficult thing to do. We also recognise that understanding about speaking up is varied and staff do not always know who they can speak up to and what happens when they do.

What are we asking?
We are asking staff to access the training via Evolve and complete the relevant training modules. Depending on role, staff are asked to complete the following modules outlined below:

Speak Up for all staff. This will provide staff with an understanding on the process of raising a concern in a safe way and how they should expect to be treated when they do.

Listen Up for all staff with line/middle management responsibility. This training will support you to understand what your responsibilities are and focuses on listening to concerns and understanding some of the barriers to speaking up. Managers should complete both the Speak Up and Listen Up training.

Follow Up for all senior leaders, including board members, non-executive directors and deputy directors. This training aims to promote a consistent and effective Freedom to Speak Up culture across the trust. Senior leaders are expected to complete all three modules, Speak Up, Listen Up and Follow Up to ensure they have a full understanding of the speaking up process.

How can I access the training:

Speak Up: Course: Speak Up (eastamb.nhs.uk)

Listen Up: Course: Listen Up (eastamb.nhs.uk)

Follow Up: Course: Follow Up (eastamb.nhs.uk)

Published 3rd May 2023