We asked our staff, patients and public to agree our values, based on the sort of organisation they want UHSussex to be. These are:
Our Behavioural Compass
Our values describe the kind of organisation we want to be – compassionate, inclusive and respectful – and help us focus on delivering excellent care everywhere.
To help us make our values real we introduced our Behavioural Compass. This turns our values into clear, positive, everyday actions, setting shared expectations for how we care for patients and how we work together, every day.
The Compass is now being brought to life across the organisation. Colleagues are trying it out in real situations so we can learn, reflect and grow together. We are also embedding the Behavioural Compass across our approach to people management – from recruitment and induction to development and performance management.
More about our five behavioural commitments
Our Compass has five commitments:
- We listen, we notice and we treat people with dignity – especially when things are difficult.
- We look out for each other, act fairly, and take responsibility for our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others.
- We value difference, assume good intent, and stay curious about perspectives that are not our own.
- We involve patients, colleagues, partners and communities in decisions that affect them.
- We work across teams, sites, professions and organisations to do what’s right for patients and communities.
- We share information, build trusted partnerships, and break down barriers to joined-up care.
- We ask questions, welcome challenge and learn from mistakes.
- We speak up about safety, quality and behaviour, and keep improving how we work for patients, colleagues and communities.
- We own our actions, make fair and transparent decisions, and do what we say we will do.
- When things go wrong, we step in early, learn together and fix problems rather than passing them on.
Holding ourselves to our values
If we ever fall short of these standards, we want to know. Feedback helps us improve and continue to build a culture where kindness, respect and teamwork are at the heart of everything we do.
Together, these values guide how we care for our patients, support each other and serve our communities at UHSussex.
If you would like to share your experience, please see our feedback page for the many ways you can let us know about how our care has been for you. Alternatively, you can contact the PALS team who will be happy to advise you.