Health & Social Care Staff Experience Survey 2023

Ministerial Foreword for Staff Experience Report 2023

The results of the 2023 iMatter Staff Experience survey have arrived, with fresh insights into the experiences of Health and Social Care staff across Scotland. In my role as Cabinet Secretary, I am pleased to share with you a set of encouraging results. I would like to thank everyone who took part and helped shape our understanding of your experience at work.

The iMatter Staff Experience survey is in its sixth year, and with a burgeoning data-set we can begin to track trends in our performance. With results dipping during the pandemic, I am pleased to see them rebounding to new heights. The results show that employee engagement (a measure of overall satisfaction) is at a new high and many Health Boards are reporting their highest scores this year.

The survey is structured around key enablers of staff engagement, allowing teams across Health and Social care to reflect on their progress, supporting staff to feel well informed; appropriately trained; involved in decisions; treated fairly; and working in an environment that promotes their health and wellbeing.

I want to acknowledge the efforts of the Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships towards improving workplace cultures. However, we must continue in our efforts to ensure staff feel valued, listened to and treated with respect.

Part of my portfolio as Cabinet Secretary, is ‘NHS Recovery’, and it is satisfying to see evidence that the £1 billion invested in our NHS Recovery Plan is leading to significant improvement to the working lives of staff, through direct workforce investments and measures to support health boards’ capacity,

These results are a strong platform from which to deliver the refreshed set of national Supporting Work-Life Balance policies, published in November 2023, work underway to support our largest job family through the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce, and the Agenda for Change Review.

I believe that there is still room for staff experience to improve. I will continue to encourage Health and Social Care employers to prioritise the culture within their organisations, to help staff enjoy their work, to protect their work-life balance, and to continue to deliver high quality services across Health and Care in Scotland.

Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care