The NHS to Improve Patient Care by Better Engaging Staff

LONDON, December 7 - The National Health Service (NHS), which manages 500 hospitals and over
1.5 million people in the UK, understands the value of an engaged staff:
healthier and happier patients. As part of an ongoing initiative to improve
the value of care, many NHS hospitals are teaming up with international staff
engagement specialists, the O.C. Tanner Company, to train hospital leaders.

"Staff engagement is essential to meeting the financial challenges facing
the NHS," said Steven Weeks, policy manager for NHS Employers, an
organisation that works with NHS trusts on workforce issues. "We hope to
offer practical tools to help managers strengthen the engagement of their
staff and, as a result, take better care of their patients."

This summer, NHS Employers hosted a series of round-table workshops for
trust leaders on engagement. International staff recognition company O.C.
Tanner presented research from a Towers Perrin study on global recognition
that shows a powerful link between highly motivated health care providers and
patient satisfaction. According to O.C. Tanner, engaged staff are 12 per cent
better at interacting with hospital patrons, and their patients have fewer
incidences of infections, pressure sores, and resident falls. NHS Employers
and O.C. Tanner published a Briefing in November with further insights into
these studies.

"We're extremely impressed with the NHS' dedication and unwavering
commitment to improving clinical quality through strengthening the engagement
and well-being of their staff," said Michelle M. Smith, Vice President of
Business Development for O.C. Tanner. "Engaged staff are more productive,
less prone to absenteeism, better at caring for and satisfying patients and
less likely to leave."

One trust within the NHS that has partnered directly with O.C. Tanner to
improve staff engagement is Princess Alexandra Hospital. As part of a
customised service award programme, staff can nominate colleagues for
demonstrating exceptional performance and offer them a selection of gifts
that act as a symbol and reminder of their achievement. The trust similarly
recognises important staff milestones and outstanding service to the
organisation. Already seeing the positive impact on their staff, Princess
Alexandra plans to launch an additional recognition programme late December.

"There's a renewed sense of pride within our organisation," said Alan
Farmer, workforce director for Princess Alexandra Hospital. "We're very open
about celebrating our champions and successes, and through recognising the
contribution our staff make in providing a good patient experience, we've
seen a significant improvement in the overall quality of our care."

NHS Employers and O.C. Tanner plan to continue providing information,
tools and resources to instruct leaders on how to engage staff at a
conference in June 2010.

About NHS Employers

NHS Employers represents trusts in England on workforce issues and helps
employers to ensure the NHS is a place where people want to work. The NHS
workforce is at the heart of quality patient care and we believe that
employers must drive the workforce agenda. We work with employers to reflect
their views and act on their behalf. NHS Employers is part of the NHS
Confederation.

About O.C. Tanner

Founded 80 years ago with a philosophy that people are at the heart of
any organisation, O.C. Tanner trains companies to recognise the great work of
their staff, in addition to designing and manufacturing staff awards. O.C.
Tanner Europe continues to build up a reputation as the leader in the staff
recognition market in the UK.

Donna Sizemore of O.C. Tanner, +44-020-8418-7400, Donna.Sizemore at octanner.com