WIREDGOV

Independent report by Webropol providing detailed information and analysis of staff experience in health and social care across Scotland. This report contains data from the 2024 iMatter survey.

Introduction

NHSScotland are committed to enhancing and improving staff experience for all.

The National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care, issued in 2022, sets out a vision of a sustainable, skilled workforce with attractive career choices where all are respected and valued for the work they do. The NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026, which seeks to drive long term recovery and sustainability in the system, also reinforces the importance of positive staff experience in delivering positive patient outcomes.

It is therefore essential that staff at all levels are empowered to have their voices heard and valued, and staff views and actions contribute to continuous improvement in their teams and organisations.

The iMatter Continuous Improvement Model was developed by NHSScotland staff with the aim of engaging all staff in a way that feels right for them. The focus is on team-based understanding of experience, but it also offers information at various levels within organisations to evidence and help improve staff experience. As such, it can provide clarity on where to focus efforts for maximum impact, which in turn leads to better care, better health, and better value.

iMatter was initially rolled out over a three-year period from 2015 to 2017 to all staff across NHSScotland Health Boards. Since 2017 it has been embedded across 22 Health Boards and participating Health and Social Care Partnerships, with the exception of 2020, when a shorter pulse survey was run instead due to the pandemic.

The implementation of iMatter has enabled Health Boards and Scottish Government to obtain a comprehensive picture of staff experience over the past 9 years, which has allowed us to identify areas of success and areas that require improvement. This helps inform delivery on the commitments of our Staff Governance Standard.

The work to measure and report staff experience within NHSScotland Health and Social Care for 2024 has remained consistent in that it is commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by Webropol Ltd, an independent company.

iMatter Process

The iMatter questionnaire gives staff the opportunity to feed back their experience within their team and at organisational level on a real-time basis. iMatter results are directly reported at all levels throughout an organisation. Once team results are delivered, teams are invited to collectively share responsibility for developing an action plan within an 8-week period and to review actions and progress made throughout the year. As an integral part of the iMatter process, teams come together to review the results and share thoughts and ideas in order to develop and implement Action Plans. See Appendix 1 for further details.

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