Our 7 Commitments

Our 7 Commitments are about focusing the collective efforts of our colleagues across the Trust to make progress in what matters most.

Alongside the rest of the NHS, there are big challenges facing all of our services with many competing priorities – our annual 7 Commitments gives our teams clarity over which are the most important priorities to focus on for the year. 

The 7 Commitments refresh every year, and align with our multi-year goals – by delivering these we will be able to realise our strategic priorities and ultimately our Trust’s vision to provide the highest quality specialist and integrated care.

Your input makes the biggest impact

Hello, my name is Phil Wood, and I’m the chief executive here at the trust. I want to talk to you today about the seven commitments. When I took on the role of chief executive a year ago, I felt that staff needed more feedback from all of you. In 2022 there was so much going on, we needed to prioritize our services recovering post pandemic. There was a sense we were doing or trying to do everything all at once, so working with the executive team we created the seven commitments.

Seven areas of focus for all our teams to work on at every level, and at the end of the first year this has produced some great outcomes. We’ve achieved a 110% increase in robotic surgery procedures and a 40% reduction in one of our most challenging Healthcare Associated infections. We’ve achieved a half day reduction in length of stay, over 32,000 fewer patients are waiting 65 weeks or longer for treatment, and over 20,000 patients, the highest ever have been recruited into research studies in leads in the past 12 months.

We’re now launching the seven commitments for the year ahead. We’ve listened to you, learned and made some changes. Our seven commitments underline what matters to us as a trust. So this year our commitments are going to focus on further supporting our people, reducing our carbon footprint, reducing the time people wait delivering our financial plan. Making the best use of our existing digital assets, further reducing Health Care Associated infections and growing our research and Innovation at all levels we’re proud of.

What we’ve achieved with the Leeds way and our culture, which sets us apart as a trust. Each and every one of us should know that our individual actions, when put together, can make a real impact, and whatever your role I want you to know that you’re a vital piece of the bigger picture. I’ve been really inspired by the energy and positivity around our seven commitments, and I hope you’ll join me in making this coming year even stronger than the last, let’s go.

Our 7 Commitments for 2024-25

A wheel diagram that lists each of the 7 Commitments for 2024-25: Reduce waits for patients, Reduce healthcare-acquired infections by 15%, Reduce our carbon footprint through greener care, Use our existing digital systems to their full potential, Strengthen participation and growth in research and innovation, Deliver the financial plan, Be in the top 25% performing trusts for staff retention.

We’re committed to deliver better care, quality and experience focusing on all aspects of the patient’s pathway, not just the constitutional standards.

We know we should be doing everything we can to reduce the associated risks that lead to harm to patients in our care. We are committed to making measurable progress against quantifiable metrics – with continued audits, increased training and education across the Trust (including non-clinical ward areas).

The NHS accounts for 5% of the UK’s carbon emissions.  We support the NHS objective to be Net Zero by 2040, with our aim to become one of the ‘Greenest Trust’s in the UK’ by reducing our carbon footprint through greener care for our patients.

We are committed to effectively manage our existing resources, specifically our digital systems and ensuring we are using them to their full potential, including understanding their importance and impact to enhance quality and timeliness of care.

We are continuing our commitment to research and innovation, strengthening participation and encouraging growth in the number of live research projects, grant applications, training academies, and AI. We want to become a global R&I leader delivering outstanding research and innovative practice, and we will enhance the visibility of R&I across all areas of the Trust.

This is our commitment to continue to find and embed cost-saving measures across the Trust, to ensure we are delivering the best value for taxpayers. We will continue waste reduction programmes, financial incentives, and drive efficiencies at all levels.

We our committed to make strides towards our goal of being the best place to work. We will promote an open culture with a “You say, We listen” approach, act on Staff Survey feedback, and act on our strengthened Freedom to Speak Up governance structures.

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