Speak Up Month 2023
Freedom to Speak Up is for everyone who works here.
Speaking up enhances all our working lives and improves the quality and safety of care. Listening and acting upon matters raised means that Freedom to Speak Up will help us be a great place to work.
Speak Up Month in October is an opportunity to raise awareness of how much we value speaking up in our organisation. We see Freedom to Speak Up as fundamental to how we work and we want to be part of making speaking up business as usual across healthcare.
The theme for Speak Up Month 2023 is “Breaking Barriers”. We will be focusing on removing the obstacles which people feel stop them from speaking up. Only by understanding and raising awareness of what these barriers are, can we then start to address them.
Fostering a culture of openness and psychological safety where everyone can feel confident and safe to speak up is business critical. All too often, we hear examples where people stay quiet for fear that speaking up may lead to mistreatment, or where workers feel speaking up is futile - that nothing will be done as a result.
Overcoming these barriers is essential, not just for our culture at work, but for people who use our services.
We’re working to remove the barriers that can stop people from speaking up, because everyone’s voice deserves to be heard.
Your Voice Matters - regardless of your background, position, or circumstances.
By speaking up, you can help us learn and improve. By listening up, we can make sure we understand what needs to change. By following up we can ensure that our learning leads to action and make speaking up business as usual.
Let’s use this opportunity to speak up, listen up and follow up, whether that be: connecting with colleagues, inviting your Freedom to Speak Up Guardian to a team meeting, or sharing something getting in the way of you doing a great job.
National Poetry Day is on Thursday 5 October. We’re looking for submissions to our poetry competition with the theme of ‘what freedom to speak up means to me’. Please send entries to Jackie Rawlings at: dchst.ftsu@nhs.net and at the end of the month one entry, chosen by our Trust chair Julie Houlder, will receive a prize!
Our next Facebook Live will take place on Friday 6 October at 12 noon when Freedom to Speak Up Guardian Jackie Rawlings will be going live with our chief executive Tracy Allen in the DCHS staff Facebook group to discuss this year’s Speak Up month topic: “breaking barriers”.
How to join:
If you are not already a member you can request membership to the ‘DCHS staff updates’ Facebook group here. Please request membership by COP on Thursday 5 October and make sure you answer the membership questions so we can confirm you are a DCHS member of staff.
We’ll be welcoming questions during the Facebook Live or you can submit a question in advance by emailing us at dchst.communications@nhs.net.
We hope to see you there!
Our Freedom to Speak up Guardian, Jackie Rawlings, is out and about and working from the following sites during October:
- Monday 2 October - Clay Cross Hospital, Room 51, ICS Management Office: 9am – 12pm
- Monday 2 October - Walton Hospital, Clinic Room 2 outpatient corridor: 1.30pm – 4pm
- Tuesday 17 October - Swadlincote Health Centre, Meeting Room 2.003, 2nd floor: 1pm – 4pm
- Thursday 19 October - Buxton Hospital Room, 128 first floor (Brenda Page’s office): 9am – 12pm
- Thursday 19 October - Whitworth Hospital, Room 130, ground floor (Spirometry Room): 1.30pm – 4pm
- Tuesday 24 October - Long Eaton Health Centre, Small Meeting Room: 9am – 12pm
- Tuesday 24 October - Ilkeston Community Hospital, Charnos Hall: 1.30pm – 4pm
Please do call in and have a chat if you are in the area – find out more about the role or talk through any concerns you may have. Drop in during the day or arrange an appointment.
Appointments are also available at all other times – by phone, MS Teams or face-to-face at a venue of your choice.
To arrange: Simply ring or text: 07795293707
Email: j.rawlings@nhs.net or dchst.RaisingConcerns@nhs.net or complete the contact form found here.
Join Mary Driver and Shami Augustin, two of our FTSU Ambassadors, at these listening events throughout October.
This year’s Speak Up theme is ‘Breaking Barriers’ and the sessions offer a space for colleagues to share their thoughts around this and meet the Quality Always FTSU Ambassadors.
Mary and Shami also welcome your questions about the FTSU Ambassador role.
Sessions will be taking place at 12.30pm on:
- Thursday 5 October
- Tuesday 10 October
- Wednesday 18 October
- Monday 23 October.
Click here for links to the sessions.
Show your support and help raise awareness of Freedom to Speak Up by wearing green on any Wednesday throughout October!
Remember to send us your pics if you do: dchst.communications@nhs.net