NHS England survey reveals concern over staff shortage

A survey conducted by the NHS England has highlighted that 47 per cent of employees believe there is not enough staff at their organisation for them to do their jobs properly.

The research, which polled 423,000 staff, found that a lack of staff impacted on the number of employees working unpaid overtime each week, with 59 per cent confirming they filled the gaps in staffing levels, with no compensation.

The survey also outlined that having to work overtime can affect the health of workers, with 36.7 per cent of staff feeling unwell due to work-related stress and 15 per cent of staff reporting they had experienced physical violence from patients.

Janet Davies, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, commented: “This is another reminder for the government of how NHS staff across the board are straining to hold things together. NHS staff are its backbone and the government cannot hope to keep getting by on their goodwill.

“The government must give the NHS the money it needs to keep patients safe and wards staffed at the right level. Ministers should offer nurses and health care assistants a pay increase that keeps pace with the cost of living and not another real-terms cut.

Meanwhile, the survey maintained that overall staff engagement has risen from 3.68 out of five in 2012 up to 3.79 out of five last year.

75 per cent of staff say they are able to make suggestions to improve the work of their team and 90 per cent of staff said they now feel their organisation takes positive action on health and well-being.

NHS England also praised that the percentage of staff witnessing potentially harmful incidents is at its lowest in five years, at the same time as the percentage of staff able to report those concerns is at its highest in six years.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said: “Perhaps surprisingly given the well understood pressures, it’s encouraging to see that frontline NHS staff say their experience at work continues to improve, with overall employee engagement scores at a five year high. There’s still much to be done to ensure staff are properly supported, and local NHS employers are now being incentivised to better support the health and well-being of their own staff.”