Information for CNTW staff

Our Freedom to Speak Up Guardians
CNTW is committed to having an open reporting culture. Our staff should feel confident and safe to speak up without any fear of repercussion or reprisal. This is of utmost importance in our delivery of safe and compassionate care.

‘Freedom to Speak Up’ is about letting others know about anything which gets in the way of doing a great job.

If you’d like to get in touch please email: FTSUGuardian@cntw.nhs.uk

Katherine Hay
Hello! I am Katherine, and I work in Older Adult Services in Newcastle. I want Speaking Up to be business as usual – this way we can ensure patient care is as safe as possible, but also create a positive working environment for all staff.

Oluwaseun Adeniyi
Hello, previously, as a Cultural Ambassador, I advocated for a safe, inclusive workplace. Now, as a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, I strive to ensure staff feel heard, respected, and empowered to raise concerns, fostering a culture of fairness, openness, and integrity across CNTW.

Lizzie Mainwaring
Hi, I’m Lizzie, I’m the Carer Lead for the North Crisis Teams. I would like all staff to be comfortable with reporting any concerns that they may have which affect their own wellbeing or the wellbeing or safety of others. Everyone can speak up!

We want a culture in which:


People working in our Trust feel free to raise concerns or to make suggestions for improvements,

When things go wrong, lessons are learned, and things are improved – learning about things that are wrong is about being able to put things right, not about finding who is to blame,

If we think something might go wrong, we all feel able to speak up to stop potential harm,

When things are good, but could be even better, we are confident that our suggestion will be used as an opportunity for improvement,

Any worker can speak up – whether you are a current or ex-staff member, contractor, honorary consultant, self-employed, a volunteer, or a student on placement,

We can raise concerns about anything, from the attitude/behaviour of a particular person or team, equipment and maintenance, policies and procedures, or something that is putting patients at risk or affecting their experience, to the way the Trust as a whole operates.

Speaking up can save lives, jobs, money, and the reputation of our Trust and of individual professionals within it.

Please note you can find further information on the Freedom to Speak Up page on the intranet.

No. Although facts and evidence help investigations, the Trust recognises that these are not always possible to be precise about. Don’t let a lack of precision or any hard evidence stop you from speaking up. Sometimes our concerns are based on ‘hunches’ and ‘gut feelings’ – these are more difficult to investigate but could nevertheless be important to address.

Your manager
The first person to speak up to is usually your own manager, supervisor or team leader, and we hope that this would resolve the concern.

However, you might have already done this, and found that nothing has happened. Or the concern might be about your own manager’s behaviour. You might even be concerned about something you as an individual or as a team member have been doing wrong and want to put matters right. Or you may worry that speaking up may cause trouble for you personally.

So, who is there to help in these circumstances?

Freedom to Speak Up Guardian
Our Trust’s Freedom to Speak Up Guardians are Katherine Hay, Oluwaseun Adeniyi and Elizabeth Mainwaring. You can contact them directly or via the confidential email address: FTSUGuardian@cntw.nhs.uk

The Freedom to Speak Up Guardians provide support and advice to help people to speak up about a concern, and/or the way their concern has been handled.

Freedom to Speak Up Champions
The Freedom to Speak Up Guardians are supported by a network of FTSU Champions. These are ordinary staff members who are keen to help people to speak up. You can contact one of them if you’d prefer and they will support you to raise your concerns with a Guardian.

If you’re interested in becoming a Freedom to Speak Up champion yourself, please contact any of the Guardians or email FTSUGuardian@cntw.nhs.uk

When you contact a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian/Champion in order to raise a concern, you will be asked how much confidentiality you would like. It is usually possible for a concern to be investigated without anyone but the Guardian/Champion from knowing your name. (Sometimes, it will be impossible to keep your identity from others due to the nature of the concern, but we will do our utmost to honour your request).

Even if your name is known to others, it is the duty of the Guardian to ensure that you do not suffer as a consequence of speaking up. Nevertheless, if you really do not want anyone to know your identity, we would rather you raised a matter anonymously than not at all.