The purpose of this work, undertaken by NHS England and NHS Improvement, which is reflected in the People Plan was to understand what bullying looks like in the NHS and how we plan to reduce it. This included an engagement and scoping phase with providers, subject matter experts, professional bodies and other professional/interest groups to develop an understanding of what bullying in the NHS looks like and what best practice has a proven evidence base of success.
The learning obtained through this evidence and research base led to the development of a framework with four supporting themes to guide human resources (HR) practitioners and NHS provider leaders in creating a culture of civility and respect and identifying the underlying causes of bullying and negative workplace behaviours in their organisation.
This framework has been used to structure a flexible practical guide for the NHS to initiate and sustain activity using an analyse, intervene, measure (AIM) approach.
