Bosses at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London, UK, have approved a one-off payment of £100 to staff in thanks for helping the trust to achieve an “Excellent” score in the recent NHS performance ratings.
Staff were told of the bonus payment on 9 November. They will receive the bonus by the end of November.
Chelsea and Westminster was one of only 19 trusts in England and one of three in London to score “Excellent” for both quality of services and use of resources in annual ratings published by healthcare watchdog the Healthcare Commission.
Chelsea and Westminster is therefore in the top 5% of NHS trusts nationally.
The Commission said staff at Chelsea and Westminster “provided an excellent quality of service to patients, having made improvements compared to the previous year”.
Chief executive Heather Lawrence said: “Bonuses of this kind are commonplace in the private sector and the board felt that on this occasion it was an appropriate way to thank staff for ‘going the extra mile’ to improve the quality of care that they provide for patients.
“We have used our financial flexibility as a foundation trust to give staff a tangible reward for their efforts because their hard work and expertise are the cornerstone of the high-quality care that we provide.”
The trust was authorised as a foundation trust in October 2006.
According to the Commission, healthcare-associated infection rates have been reduced by 50% in the last two years and the hospital is in the top five NHS trusts nationally for reduced mortality.
