Downturn in NHS staff wellbeing will have a knock on effect on patients - John Appleby

The new NHS staff survey shows that as many as 40% of staff reported feeling unwell as a result of work related stress in the last 12 months and the overall measure of health and wellbeing has declined.

Press release

Published: 26/02/2019

Responding to the latest NHS staff survey Professor John Appleby, Chief Economist at the Nuffield Trust said:

"After years of holding up against all the odds, today's figures confirm an alarming downturn in the wellbeing of hardworking NHS staff. As many as 40% of staff reported feeling unwell as a result of work related stress in the last 12 months and the overall measure of health and wellbeing has declined. Both of these are the worst results in the last 5 years.

"These pressures are not just a matter for staff themselves but have a knock on effect on patients too. Satisfaction in the quality of care that staff feel they can provide is continuing to decline and the proportion of staff who saw something that could have hurt patients has risen to 28%. This could be in part down to increased awareness and better reporting, but it is still a worrying sign and offers an insight into the heavy burden that many staff carry during their shifts.

"It is encouraging to see that satisfaction within ambulance trusts, traditionally one of the poorest rated services in this survey, is showing signs of improvements on previous years. However this continues to be an uphill struggle to reach the same levels as other NHS staff."

Notes to editors

The latest NHS staff survey can be found here.

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