This week, Elysium Healthcare is shining a spotlight on Freedom to Speak Up and caught up with Paul Elms, our Group Freedom to Speak up Guardian who told us more about what it means and why it’s so important to highlight this vital topic.
“Across our organisation, we have more than 70 Freedom to Speak Up Champions who are based in our services and this is a number which continues to grow. It’s an important role. Across Elysium we have 90+ services and more than 8,000 colleagues and it’s essential that everyone feels they have a voice that will be listened to and a voice that counts.
“Last year, during our Freedom to Speak Up awareness initiative, we saw Champions hold events at their sites, there was a quiz and a variety of different ways people engaged and raised awareness. We plan to do the same again this year, along with drop in sessions.
“Our Champions wear specific lanyards so colleagues know who can approach if they wish to ‘speak up’, and we hope the week’s activity in support of Speak Up will further embed the concept across our teams.
“I would encourage people to take up the role of Champion. It’s such an important role – these are people that know their site well, they understand it, they know the teams. People prefer to speak with someone they know and trust and people can talk to the Champions or to myself.
“The role tends to attract ‘people people’ and when I ask them why they apply, it’s usually because they are already the kind of person that colleagues are coming to discuss any issues. So it’s just formalising what they already do.
“What they do is really beneficial to their sites. They work directly with senior managers and the Hospital Director, providing a key link between colleagues and the senior team on sites.
“It’s important in any organisation that people can speak up – and in healthcare it’s particularly so. The organisation takes it very seriously. Champions offer colleagues a friendly and safe place to share their concerns at a service-level and they then know when those concerns should be escalated – and help them to do so.
“They need to be friendly and approachable as well as being discreet and protecting people’s confidentiality. The colleagues who take up the role of Freedom to Speak Up Champions really are playing a vital part in their service. Freedom to Speak Up Champions help to raise awareness and ensure colleagues understand the importance of speaking up, listening up and following up.
“They are also key in helping signpost people to help. They can discuss concerns with colleagues and provide details on the routes they can take to speak up. They can also ensure that people who speak up are thanked, the issues they raise are responded to and that the person speaking up receives feedback on the actions taken.
“All of that is really essential in helping our teams know that they are valued, that their voice counts and that concerns will be acted on.”
