Visit to University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
10 June 2025
NHS Providers chief executive Daniel Elkeles visits University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
Workforce
Last week, Daniel Elkeles visited University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB).
Daniel said: "Something special is happening at University Hospitals Birmingham. Not every NHS trust lists 'bold' among its core values, but at UHB, it's the word that best describes the actions being taken to reset their culture and put a focus on positive behaviours.
"After a challenging few years, UHB is making strides particularly in how it supports its people. Their most recent staff survey showed significant improvements across all five NHS People Promise themes, with marked gains in morale and engagement. A major part of this success lies in their commitment to developing line managers - equipping them with the skills and support to help their teams thrive, which is great to see."
One standout example is their critical care service at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. The service is vast with 100 beds strategically interconnected and laid out by speciality. The trust was hit hard by the pandemic – facing high vacancies and staffing challenges. However today, the picture looks very different:
🔵 Fully staffed
🔵 Low turnover
🔵 No agency nursing use for the last three months
The trust achieved this by:
- Visible leadership – consistent support from the executive team
- Investment in front-line managers – focusing on people-first leadership
- Face-to-face communication – moving away from email-only updates
- Career development – extensive education and training opportunities
- Smart deployment – flexible staffing to maximise safe patient care