EAST Cheshire NHS Trust has received a strong endorsement as a place to work via the latest NHS Staff Survey, with the organisation maintaining or improving its position across all measurements.

Feedback from staff across the trust placed it above the national average for a range of key measurements and saw significant improvements in a number of important areas.

The survey asked for views about working for the organisation, with the aim of gathering information that will help to improve the working lives of staff, and so provide better care for patients.

The trust, which employs about 2,500 people, was compared to other combined acute and community NHS trusts.

Key findings included - overall staff engagement improved again and continues to exceed the national average; the support and communication staff receive from managers has significantly improved and is above the national average, and staff say action the trust is taking to support their health and wellbeing has significantly improved and the trust is also above the national average

The trust also scored above the national average for the quality of care staff feel they provide and morale.

Rachael Charlton, the trust’s Director of Human Resources and Development, said: “I am delighted the trust has received such excellent feedback from staff and has made strong progress in many areas of the survey without falling behind in any others.

“While we have always had a reputation for being a close-knit organisation with a ‘family feel’, in recent years we have invested significantly in areas like employee wellbeing and engagement and it’s great to see that hard work has paid off.

“We have also made good progress in reducing our overall vacancy rate and strengthening nurse retention, and the survey results help us to understand why this might be.”