Two-fifths of health service staff would not recommend their friends or family being treated at hospitals and clinics where they work, with many workers apparently disillusioned by the government's NHS shakeup, according to a Department of Health survey.
The ninth annual staff poll in the NHS, which drew 134,000 responses, revealed fewer than a third of NHS employees believe there are enough workers at their trust to enable them to do their job properly, while 45% say they do not have time to complete their tasks.
There appeared to be a growing divide between foundation trusts, freed from Whitehall control, and the old-style NHS trusts. Staff in the former scored their hospitals the best – nine out of 10 staff in West Sussex's Queen Victoria foundation trust would be happy for a friend or relative to be treated there. By comparison, only a third of staff at Croydon's NHS trust agreed when asked the same question. The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, plans to give every hospital foundation status.
The survey found staff rated highly feeling part of a team but some were struggling with heavy workloads. More than one in five (22%) say they cannot do their job to a standard they are personally pleased with, 60% think they can and 17% neither agree nor disagree.
Overall, the Department of Health pointed out the measures were the same or better in 25 out of 38 key measures. Lansley said: "This survey shows that NHS staff remain committed to providing the highest quality of care to their patients.
"The number of staff happy with the standard of care remains stable, with some foundation trusts performing to a very high standard. Too many trusts continue to have less favourable levels of recommendation to family and friends. The NHS should use this as a basis for seeing improvement in the services we deliver for patients in the future."
However, the unions said their own surveys revealed a deep disenchantment in the NHS as pressures have been building over the past year. Christina McAnea, Unison's head of health, said: "The staff survey reflects some of the pressures felt by staff, but our own survey painted a much bleaker picture. Unison's survey showed that 85% experienced an increase in workload and 83% suffered an increase in stress over the past year.
"The increase in workload is not a coincidence; it is down to cuts in staffing and to a lack of cover for staff on sick or on leave. And it is not just staff who suffer – the increase in workload and stress is felt by patients and by workers' families."
Dr Peter Carter, the chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said; "If ever there was proof of the pressures hitting the NHS frontline then this is it. It is worrying but not surprising that numbers of staff prepared to recommend their trust as a place to work are decreasing. Staff cutbacks are leaving nurses and other NHS workers so stretched that they can feel unable to deliver the level of care for patients that they would wish." Guardian
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