Rotherham Clinical Commissioning Group

An impressive 96 per cent of staff at Rotherham CCG said that they were satisfied with the quality of care they were able to deliver. With a workforce that feels valued and involved, Rotherham CCG is one of the top performers in staff wellbeing and engagement.

Chief officer Chris Edwards says: “We are delighted that Rotherham CCG has been recognised as a fantastic place for people to work.” He adds “The dedication that our staff and GP members demonstrate is our major strength and we want to harness their talents by involving them, helping them to stay healthy and recognising their role in enabling us to make the right commissioning decisions for the people of Rotherham.”

In order to improve staff engagement the CCG introduced discussion workshops during the staff meetings to encourage staff to share ideas and help shape the work of the CCG. Most recently the CCG had a discussion with staff around its NHS staff survey results and how improvements could be sought.

Senior managers, including Mr Edwards, also share an open plan office with staff in order to engage staff daily and facilitate an open culture. Mr Edwards says: “We want our staff to enjoy coming to work and we pride ourselves on having an open environment, where our strategic GPs are side by side with staff in an open plan office to achieve what matters most to the CCG.” He adds that this is to ensure “high quality, safe health services for our patients”.

Ensuring staff health and wellbeing is important to the organisation. One of the most successful health initiatives for the organisation was the CCG wide weight loss challenge. In the first three months of this year the CCG took on plans to collectively loss 150lbs by March. This was received well by staff, who supported each other by sharing healthy recipes and exercise tips. The CCG even managed to exceed their goal by 120lbs.

Rachel Garrison, primary care contracts and quality assurance manager, took part in the challenge. She says: “The CCG Weight Loss Challenge really helped me to find the impetus to lose 18lbs. It took an issue that’s very personal and usually relies solely on individual motivation and turned it into a team activity; the moral support and element of friendly competition were great drivers and everyone did so well. I hope we do it again after next Christmas to help shed the excess weight.”