Our plans

Our plans have been developed through open engagement with our patients, people and partners.

Strategic aims

Gateshead Health has five strategic aims.

Download the full corporate strategy (610kB pdf)

We have three strategic areas of focus built around patients, people and partners.

Patients

Compassionate care is at the very heart of everything we do at Gateshead Health

The patient communities we serve at Gateshead Health are very important to us.

Everyone who works at the Trust is committed to providing the highest standards of safe care to our patients at the right time
and in the right place.

Caring for all our patient communities

Gateshead has some of the most deprived people and families in the country. More than half of the people in Gateshead are just
managing, and over a third are vulnerable or in need.

Our goal is to tackle health inequalities and ensure the best health outcomes for all the patient communities that we serve.

This includes refugees and ethnic minority groups, people with learning disabilities, those with severe mental illness, the travelling
community, the Jewish community and many more.

Will we do this by

• Talking to and actively listening to the people in our communities, to capture and use information, data and feedback.
• Creating the time, space and opportunities for conversations with patients and carers to better understand them.
• Working closely with others to create and tailor services that meet changing and different needs.
• Improving how easy our digital and physical sites are to access. Such as making improvements to our website, or the signage used in our buildings.
• Continuing to improve our people’s understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Proving safe, high-quality care

We are committed to delivering high-quality person-centred care and the best clinical outcomes and experiences for our patients.

This means continuing to maintain our track record of delivering our services safely – for our people, patients and their families.

Our commitment to keeping patients safe means making sure we have in place systems and processes that are fit-for-purpose and simple to use.

Will we do this by

• Constantly seeking to improve and where possible, standardise the processes, systems and approaches used across the Trust to ensure consistently high standards of healthcare are delivered.
• Ensuring our people receive training in safety and have a solid understanding of safeguarding procedures.
• Supporting a safety culture in which we create the mechanisms and time to hear more, share more, learn more and take more action to improve patient safety

Making every contact compassionate and caring

Our goal is to treat all people and patients with respect, dignity and the compassion we would wish for our own families and loved ones.

This means providing friendly, compassionate care with kindness to patients so that their experience with us is one we are proud of.

We will do this by

• Taking the time to actively listen to our patients and their carers
• Being patient with our patients, approaching every interaction with openness, care and respect
• Supporting the active involvement of patients and carers in healthcare decisions that affect them.
• Dealing with any issues impacting patient experiences immediately, transparently and with compassion.
• Providing care with dignity and respect that meets the unique needs of the individual without judgement or discrimination.

People

The people at Gateshead Health are our greatest asset

Our people are key to achieving our aim of being a great organisation with a highly engaged workforce.

In every conversation held while developing this strategy, the value and importance of our people has shone through.

Supporting the health and wellbeing of our people

At the very heart of the Trust are our people – they are our greatest strength.

The pandemic has had a big impact on their health and wellbeing, and we are committed to supporting them so that everyone who
works at Gateshead Health feels valued, appreciated and supported for the brilliant work that they do.

Will will do this by

• Offering the health and wellbeing support that our people need to keep them resilient, safe and well – physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.
• Seeking to create healthy environments for our people to work in.
• Providing our people with the flexibility that they need and protecting their time so they can rest, learn and connect with others.
• Continuing to take the time to acknowledge and recognise the hard work and efforts of our people.
• Celebrating our achievements and accomplishments.

Being a great place to work

The healthcare sector is facing many challenges that are impacting how NHS organisations across the UK are having to attract and
retain people.

Our goal is to provide our people with fulfilling career paths, opportunities to progress and support at every stage of their career.

We are committed to being as innovative as possible in the employment opportunities that we offer.

We will do this by

• Engaging, supporting, developing, and rewarding our people.
• Supporting flexibility and variety in the way our people work to keep them motivated and engaged.
• Building on the successes of our apprenticeship programme by exploring opportunities across our clinical and corporate services.
• Exploring rewarding supervisory, teaching, and mentoring opportunities.
• Investing time to understand how we can offer more innovative and fulfilling development opportunities and career paths.
• Developing leadership and management capability at every level across our organisation.

Ensuring a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture

We believe the diversity of our people and the different perspectives we have at Gateshead Health helps us to achieve great outcomes for the patient communities that we serve.

Ensuring everyone is represented, recognised, and heard is a key part of achieving our strategic aim of being a great organisation
with a highly engaged workforce.

We will do this by

• Increasing opportunities for our people to have their voices heard.
• Empowering our people to invest time in developing relationships with one another through inclusive networks, communities and forums where they can interact.
• Gently but firmly holding one another to account for living our values in everything we do.
• Fostering an inclusive culture of belonging where everyone is seen, supported, respected and valued for their unique contributions.

Working in new and collaborative ways as “one team”

Covid-19 has meant new and different ways of working for everyone. Our adaptability has enabled us to respond to this crisis and show our ability to work together with purpose and urgency.

As we move into a world where we learn to live with Covid-19, we want to ensure we maximise our opportunities to collaborate, innovate and improve.

We will do this by

• Providing the time, space and resources to enable innovations to be realised.
• Empowering our people and bringing decision making closer to patients and the front line.
• Greater knowledge sharing, collaboration and partnering between our teams so we work together on key initiatives from inception to delivery.
• Fostering a culture of trust where we share lessons and learnings openly, honestly, and more broadly, overcoming barriers to learning and improving safety and performance outcomes.
• Embracing opportunities for continuous improvement, always working to better standardise our systems and ways of working across the Trust.

Partners

We respect and work closely with our partners to deliver outstanding care

We have always recognised the value of working closely with others that share our values and commitment to patient care.

Meaningful partnerships provide opportunities to address recruitment and retention challenges, generate economies of scale, and improve patient pathways.

Being a force for good

As one of the largest employers in the region, we appreciate the part that we play in the community and recognise the corporate
social responsibilities that we have.

We recognise the part we play in the community, and that our impact and influence goes beyond our role as a provider of healthcare services.

This is why we continue to contribute time and energy to working with our partners to develop the Gateshead experience, ensuring it is a fantastic place to live, work and receive care.

We will do this by

• Communicating and showcasing what Gateshead Health offers to the people of the region – both as a fantastic place to work and as a provider of high-quality patient care.
• Engaging others in the opportunities that Gateshead Health can offer people. Such as meaningful, stable employment and understanding what else can be done to improve this.
• Embracing new and different ways to communicate. Raising awareness of what we do and our role as an anchor institution in the community.
• Offering Gateshead residents the best start through our Maternity, Paediatric and Community Children’s services, so that we support people to reach their full potential.

Acting as a key partner

We appreciate the benefit of working closely with our partners in Gateshead and beyond.

We are committed to investing time in being an important and valued partner to others. Not just through the Trust, but also through the services offered by our wholly-owned subsidiary, QE Facilities.

These partnerships are crucial to effectively tackling health inequalities, improving patient outcomes and providing sustainable healthcare to in the region.

We will do this by

• Partnering with organisations and charities that share our values and commitment to giving our patient communities the best care possible.
• Continuing to deliver and expand the services we offer in Gateshead and beyond.
• Sharing insights to tackle our shared regional health and efficiency challenges in partnership with others.
• Working with our place-based partners to continue reducing waste, improving efficiencies and productivity.
• Working closely with our partners to deliver care at the earliest possible opportunity, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions.
• Seek to further develop our role at place going forward.

Working with further and higher education providers

Investment in education and making sure that we have highly skilled and motivated people that can provide outstanding care to
our patient communities is important to us.

Recognising our responsibility as one of the largest employers in the region, we work closely with further and higher education
providers to ensure we can offer our people the development and growth opportunities they need.

We will do this by

• Continuing to make sure our new and existing people are supported to have rewarding careers at Gateshead Health.
• Maintaining our close working relationships with higher and further education providers such as universities and colleges in the region.
• Working with education partners to support people into stable and secure employment at Gateshead Health.
• Offering our people the educational experiences, placements, development opportunities, and support that they need to develop, grow and make the best use of their skills and capabilities.