The results of the second Western Australian health system staff engagement survey have shown increased employee engagement, and a workforce positive about their roles and strongly committed to patient care.
Despite the interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey - which was undertaken in March - resulted in an Employment Engagement Index of 66 per cent, up from 62 per cent last year.
The annual Your Voice in Health survey is a McGowan Government election commitment designed to enable staff to identify issues in the workplace and suggest how to better look after their health and wellbeing.
Areas of strength across the health system included that staff:
- felt positive about their roles;
- had a strong commitment to service delivery and patient care;
- felt in alignment with their organisation's goals and objectives;
- behaved in an accepting manner towards people from diverse backgrounds; and
- highlighted strong collaboration within teams.
The survey also identified staff felt more needed to be done to support their health and wellbeing, and needed more support to share their concerns and challenge workplace practices with leadership.
Health service providers are reviewing the survey results to ensure support can be provided to those particular areas where improvement is necessary between now and the next survey, to take place in March 2021.
The latest survey results can be found at http://www.health.wa.gov.au/staffsurvey
As stated by Health Minister Roger Cook:
"Our staff are our most precious asset and the McGowan Government is so grateful to have such skilled and caring people looking after the health of Western Australians.
"This has been borne out by the outstanding and ongoing commitment to the health system our staff have made in dealing with the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Thank you to the many WA health system staff who participated in this survey, particularly given that staff were also preparing to deal with the impact of COVID-19 at the time.
"This effort alone points to what the survey showed: an increasing level of engagement in our health system, from a workforce committed to providing the best possible patient care.
"A properly engaged workforce is crucial to ensuring the outcomes of the Sustainable Health Review can be successfully achieved.
"I have instructed the Department of Health and the Health Service Provider Boards to start work immediately on identifying changes that need to be made."
