Every year, staff across NHS trusts in England are asked to give their views on a number of themes which help to shape the picture of what that trust is like as a place to work and to receive care.

The NHS Staff Survey helps organisations gain a detailed insight into how staff feel about culture, their wellbeing, levels of engagement and motivation, equality, diversity and inclusion, safety and quality of care at their place of work.

This year, despite continuing to work in some of the most challenging times in the history of the NHS, 1 in 3 of our staff took the time to share their views.

As expected, there are some key areas where we know we need to make changes, but also some areas where our staff tell us we’re doing really well. This is reflective of the ongoing pressures of treatment backlogs, long waits in our emergency department, industrial action and fatigue and burnout following two years of the pandemic.

Staff have highlighted their commitment to each other as a strength of the organisation, with 8 in 10 people saying that they enjoy working as a team with their colleagues, and that people are kind and understanding to each other.

Equally, the positive learning culture of the organisation saw nearly 89% of staff rank this highly due to the approach taken to reporting errors, near misses or incidents. Trust in them to do their jobs, and feeling that they make a difference were also highlighted as strengths by the people who took part.

Areas where we know we can do better include more support for staff to manage their health and wellbeing, helping them to feel happy and settled at work, and more support to work flexibly.

For the fifth year running, we have placed highest of all acute and acute and community Trusts in Greater Manchester in several of the key areas. We’re so proud to be in this position, but know that the hard work doesn’t stop here.

James Mawrey, Director of People and Deputy Chief Executive at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said:

We know how tough things are for our staff at the moment, and that some days it must feel like an insurmountable battle. But our fantastic staff keep coming in day in, day out, to do their very best for the people of Bolton.

“I’m really pleased that yet again we’ve scored highest in our region in some key areas, and that tells us that this is a place our staff want to be.

“I’m not surprised to see that there are areas that we need to really strengthen and enhance, to give people the conditions they deserve to be working in and providing excellent care. Much of this we are already working on to the best of our ability, but where we are not, these results will help us to form our improvement plans for the future.

“I’m so grateful to each and every member of Team Bolton for both sharing their views, and being here every day to care for those that need it.