What NHS organisations are doing to improve staff health

What NHS organisations are doing to improve staff health One trust provides one-to-one support for traumatised staff while another has made a commitment to reducing reliance on agency staff

NHS organisations have a problem with sickness: that of their employees. Health and Social Care Information Centre figures for English NHS trusts show that 4.44% of working days were lost to staff illness between January and March this year, up from 4.2% for the same period a year ago. The Office of National Statistics said the sickness rate across public sector healthcare for 2013 was 3.4%, compared with 3% in central government, 2.7% in local government and 1.8% in the private sector.

Like most large employers, NHS trusts and boards provide occupational health services to help employees when they are ill, with mental health problems including anxiety, stress and depression vying with musculoskeletal complaints as the biggest problem. But some are also helping their staff to avoid sickness in the first place. Continue reading... The Guardian