Learning from what you told us: strengthening support for staff wellbeing

Listening to our staff and learning from their experiences is at the heart of how we improve at CNTW. 

The NHS Staff Survey helps us understand what it really feels like to work here and the free text comments give clear insight into what matters most. 

Special leave

Many colleagues spoke about the importance of feeling supported during some of life’s most difficult moments. One area that came up most was bereavement. Staff told us they wanted more compassionate and flexible support during times of loss. 

As a result, we have strengthened our bereavement leave offer as part of our Special Leave Policy. This includes enhanced paid leave and clearer guidance, helping to ensure staff feel able to take the time they need, without added pressure or uncertainty.

Feeling safe

We have also listened closely to staff feedback around feeling safe and respected at work, particularly in relation to sexual safety and staff to staff interactions.

In response, we signed the NHS Sexual Safety Charter and launched our It’s Not OK campaign. This sets outs a clear message that inappropriate behaviour is not acceptable.

We have developed practical resources to help staff recognise inappropriate behaviours and understand the steps they can take, as well as to support managers to respond in a compassionate and consistent way.

This work is part of our aim to create a workplace where everyone feels safe, respected and able to be themselves. 
This reflects a wider shift in how we design our policies. We want them to feel supportive, consistent and rooted in real staff experience. 

We are also continuing to review and improve our wider health and wellbeing offer. Staff told us that while there is a lot of support available, it’s not always easy to find or navigate. 

We are focusing on bringing this support together more clearly. Resources such as the Staff Wellbeing Hub and Thrive website provide a single place where staff can find support for their emotional, physical, financial and psychological wellbeing. 

We also continue to learn from our data. Alongside staff feedback, we also monitor trends in wellbeing metrics and absence data and track our People Promise scores in the Staff Survey. This helps us understand what’s going well and where more focus is needed. 

Looking ahead

The work does not stop here. Learning and improving means continuing to listen and adapt. 

Over the coming year, we will keep building on what we have started. This includes improving how we communicate and promote wellbeing support, so that all staff know what’s available and how to access it quickly and confidently. We will also continue to review and develop our wellbeing offer, making sure it reflects what staff need now and in the future.

A key focus will be embedding wellbeing into everything we do, rather than it being seen as something separate. This means treating wellbeing as a “golden thread” running through our policies, leadership, and day to day practices. Alongside this, we are identifying practical support we can offer staff. This includes continuing to strengthen compassionate policies and expanding development opportunities such as training in areas like trauma-informed practice. 

This sits with our new People and Culture Strategy, which focuses on caring for our people and creating a compassionate working environment where staff feel safe, supported and able to thrive.

By keeping staff voice at the centre of this work, we are not only responding to feedback but using it to shape a more supportive and inclusive organisation for everyone.