Supporting great care

Supporting great care means creating the conditions in which our people and services can consistently deliver safe, effective and compassionate care. A strong and resilient organisation – one that is well led, culturally healthy and sustainable – is essential to improving patient outcomes, experience and staff wellbeing.

Variation in quality, productivity and pressure on colleagues is often rooted in deeper system issues, including leadership capability, organisational culture, access to the right facilities and other structural issues.

Addressing these challenges requires sustained focus on how we lead, support and develop our organisation, not just what we deliver.

At the heart of this priority is our commitment to a just and learning culture. We want to create a confident, compassionate organisation that improves continuously and delivers the best possible care for patients and communities. Having the right culture means building a shared system of values, beliefs, behaviours and norms that shape how we work together every day.

We will build a just and learning culture where people feel safe, supported and valued, and where doing the right thing for patients and for each other is easy, encouraged and expected. This culture is fundamental to patient safety, quality and improvement, and will be guided by our values.

In practice, this means that concerns are raised early and without fear, and that when things go wrong, we focus on learning, reflection and improvement rather than blame. We will treat everyone with respect, listen to different voices and experiences, and support one another to grow and improve.

Leaders and managers play a critical role in setting and sustaining this culture. They will be supported – and expected – to act consistently with our values, intervening early when interpersonal issues arise, maintaining high standards, and balancing compassion with accountability.

We will be clear about the behaviours we expect and do not tolerate in our organisation, and we will act swiftly and firmly where behaviours fall below our standards, including in relation to racism, sexually inappropriate behaviour, aggression and violence.

Alongside culture and leadership, modern digital systems and fit-for-purpose estates are essential enablers of safe and effective care. We will prioritise reliable infrastructure that supports clinical decision-making, patient flow, communication and the use of data to improve quality and outcomes.

We will also act responsibly in how we use resources, delivering strong financial discipline in line with our medium-term plan to deliver financial sustainability within 3 years so that resources are consistently directed to patient care and staff support. This will be supported by clear productivity and commercial plans.

Responding to the climate emergency is an essential part of supporting great care. Climate change is already affecting health, widening inequality and increasing demand on health services and we have a responsibility to reduce our environmental impact and to ensure our services are resilient to the effects of a changing climate.

We will take a systematic approach to environmental sustainability, reducing carbon emissions, waste and unnecessary use of resources while improving energy efficiency across our buildings, services and supply chains.

This work will be closely aligned with national NHS commitments on net zero and with our responsibility to use public resources wisely. By embedding sustainability into everyday decision-making (from estates and digital design to clinical practice and procurement) we will support safer, more resilient services and contribute to healthier communities now and for future generations.