iMatter Health & Social Care Staff Experience Survey 2024

Ministerial Foreword for Staff Experience Report 2024

The results of the 2024 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 be able to share the National Report. I would like to thank everyone who took part and helped shape our understanding of your experience at work.

Now in its 7^th year, iMatter continues to provide key data and trend analysis, demonstrating sustained engagement from the workforce. 2024 has seen the highest number of responses received since the survey began.

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

The report again includes results of responses relating to staff feeling confident to speak up. This is the second year that we have gathered this information which has provided comparable data which will support NHS employers to understand how staff feel about raising concerns.

The iMatter Health and Social Care Staff Experience Survey results enable teams to recognise and celebrate their achievements and for Boards to explore opportunities for continuous improvement where their staff have identified areas that this is needed. This supports NHS Boards’ commitment to fostering a positive workplace environment and enhancing employee experiences, which will contribute to the long-term recovery and sustainability of our NHS. Understanding staff experiences is vital as recovery and subsequent sustainability cannot be achieved without the buy-in of an engaged, supportive, and supported workforce.

I continue to value our workforce as I recognise this is NHS Scotland’s greatest asset. This year’s pay uplift, whilst challenging in the current financial climate, looked to acknowledge this. Collectively, we must strive to continuously improve staff’s experience and to enhance this by working in partnership to progressing the Agenda for Change reforms. This includes working towards a 36-hour working week for Agenda for Change staff, building on an initial 30-minute reduction in working hours, ensuring learning time is protected and progressing the review of Band‑5 nursing roles across NHS Scotland.

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.

Neil Gray, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care