UNISON Cymru/Wales’s thorough consultation with members of what it is like to work for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board moved to Wrexham Maelor yesterday with two mass meetings of health workers.
The union has organised a widespread listening exercise to discover the extent of problems across the board’s hospitals after the imposition of special measures by the Welsh government.
The meetings at Wrexham Maelor form the third stage of a series of meetings across the board’s three hospitals.
In addition, UNISON’s ‘Listening to You’ questionnaires have been sent to every health care member in the region, with over a thousand responses received so far.
North Wales health branch branch secretary Jan Tomlinson said: “Our members across the hospitals have told us they felt they didn’t believe they were being listened to or their concerns taken seriously.
“UNISON health care members are working as hard as ever, yet they’ve revealed that they are embarrassed about telling people where they work because of the ongoing publicity surrounding Betsi Cadwaladr.
“This is having an obvious effect on staff morale. There’s a duty on the board to foster a better working environment for our members.”
Betsi’s interim chief executive, Simon Dean, has said that he whole-heartedly backs UNISON’s campaign and he is encouraging managers to support their staff attending the meetings where possible.
UNISON will submit a report to the board to use as the basis for an action plan.
The union intends to repeat the extensive survey of members in six months to ensure that remedial measures implemented are working to improve conditions for patients and staff.