The Staff Friends and Family Test (FFT) is a feedback tool which enables NHS staff to give regular feedback about their organisation as a place to work and to receive care/treatment. It is hoped that Staff FFT will help to promote a big cultural shift in the NHS, where staff have further opportunity and confidence to speak up, and where the views of staff are increasingly heard and are acted upon.
The Staff FFT is conducted on a quarterly basis (excluding Q3 when the existing NHS Staff Survey takes place). There is no set criterion for how many staff should be asked in each quarter, simply a requirement that all staff should be asked at least once over the year.
Staff are offered two questions. The ‘Care’ question asks how likely staff are to recommend the organisation they work in to friends and family if they need treatment or care. The ‘Work’ question asks how likely staff would be to recommend the organisation they work in to friends and family as a place to work.
All acute, community, mental health and ambulance NHS trusts have been required to offer the FFT to their staff since 1 April 2014 and submit data to NHS England at the end of Quarters 1, 2 and 4.
Further information can be found on NHS England webpage https://www.england.nhs.uk/fft/staff-fft/