East Lancashire Hospital mediators will take pain out of disputes (From Lancashire Telegraph)

East Lancashire Hospital mediators will take pain out of disputes

8:00pm Wednesday 29th August 2012 in News

A NEW mediation scheme has been launched for staff at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mediation offers an informal method of dispute resolution and can be used at the point when problems first arise in the workplace.

For trust staff it can mean avoiding time-consuming, complex and stressful formal processes such as discipline and grievance procedures.

Now 20 accredited trained mediators are being used, who are also part of a wider Regional Network Group, which monitors and oversees the activities of the Mediation Scheme.

David Smithson, head of human resources at ELHT, said: “The scheme will provide support to staff involved in a dispute and attempt to find a resolution to their problem, without recourse to more formal, and what can often be stressful, procedures.

“Early constructive discussion through mediation can help resolve problems before they escalate and working relationships deteriorate.”