The NHS in England: what do staff think?

摘要

The 2012 NHS staff survey for England, published on 28 February 2013, shows that only 40% of staff are satisfied with the way in which they feel that their trust values their work. This is the average and drops dramatically to 23% for staff working for ambulance trusts. Across NHS England six out of 10 members of staff do not believe their trust values their work. What else does the staff survey tell us? Four pledges The NHS constitution includes four pledges, which establish what staff should expect from NHS employers in England. The pledges contribute to the commitment in the NHS to provide high-quality working environments for staff and the NHS staff survey is based on these. Pledge 1: To provide all staff with clear roles and responsibilities and rewarding jobs for teams and individuals that make a difference to patients, their families and carers, and to communities Pledge 2: To provide all staff with personal development plans, access to appropriate training for their jobs and the support of line management to succeed Pledge 3: To provide support and opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing and safety Pledge 4: To engage staff in decisions that affect them and the services they provide individually, through representative organisations and local partnership working arrangements. All staff will be empowered to put forward ways to deliver better and safer services for patients and their families. Roles and responsibilities Under pledge 1, the survey shows that 63% of staff would be happy with the standard of care their organisation provides, should a relative or friend require treatment. A high percentage of staff (75%) agree that team members have shared objectives and communicate closely to achieve objectives; this is based on a total of 96% of staff working in teams. Levels of job satisfaction for 2012 were slightly increased compared to 2011, with 74% of staff satisfied with the amount of responsibility they are given. However, just over a third were satisfied with their level of pay and under a third felt there were not enough staff members to allow them to do their jobs properly. This reflects one of the issues to emerge from the Francis report and the risks of understaffmg. Appraisals and training Pledge 2 covers staff appraisal and there was a small increase in staff members who underwent appraisals in 2012 compared to 2011 - 83% from 80%. Overall, the responses to training, learning and development showed increases in the percentage of staff who had training and 64% felt that the training and development had helped to deliver better services. Health and wellbeing Pledge 3 covers maintaining health, wellbeing and safety for staff. The survey results show a mixed picture. There was a small increase in staff saying that their line manager takes a positive interest in their health and wellbeing; but this is still only 55% and it demonstrates there is a long way to go in the management of staff health and wellbeing. This is graphically illustrated by the finding that only 43% said their organisation takes positive action on health and wellbeing.