29.01.14
‘Progress is slow’ on staff mental wellbeing policy
Just over half of NHS trusts have a mental wellbeing policy to support staff, a new audit shows. The research, published by the Health and Work Development Unit (HWDU) of the Royal College of Physicians, covers 115 trusts over 2013.
It investigates the degree to which trusts are taking up NICE public health guidance for the workplace, with plans and policies recommended to tackle obesity, smoking, long-term sickness absence and mental health.
While more trusts have organisation-wide plans on health and wellbeing, 24% don’t monitor their staffs’ mental wellbeing at all. This has been cited as the second most common cause of long-term sickness absence amongst the NHS workforce.
Just 28% have a plan to tackle obesity levels – and while this is higher than the previous audit in 2010, the number offering staff healthy food choices in staff restaurants during night shifts has fallen.
Dr Siân Williams, clinical director of the HWDU, said: “The round two audit results show that there is acknowledgement of the importance of staff health and wellbeing in the NHS; but the results also show that there is wide variation and progress is slow. This is concerning given the evidence that NHS staff health influences patient outcomes, for example infection rates.
“There is room for improvement to ensure that organisations are providing the best support for their staff. The NICE guidance that we measured against is evidence-based, and so is a very good place to start for NHS Trusts’ developing staff health and wellbeing strategies. In fact, I would urge all trusts to familiarise themselves with it, because we anticipate further guidance from NICE about public health and the workplace next year.”
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive &general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, called the figures “disappointing” and said: “The NHS is currently facing huge challenges, with demand rising alongside unprecedented financial constraints. The resulting pressures on health care workers are extraordinary. In the autumn the RCN published Beyond Breaking Point, which showed that more than half of nurses had been made unwell by stress over the previous year.
“We are therefore dismayed that so many trusts lack a mental wellbeing policy to support their employees. It is troubling that less than half of all trust boards considered long-term sickness absence alongside health and wellbeing data so that links between the two can be identified.”
But Dean Royles, chief executive of NHS Employers, said: “The NHS has maintained an important and responsible focus on the wellbeing of its workforce, amid all the other challenges faced by staff and managers.
“At least 300,000 more staff are covered by comprehensive policies compared to three years ago and sick-leave has fallen over the same period among nurses and other major staff groups. We all recognise that healthy, well supported staff are happier in their roles and can give better care, so it’s crucial that these programmes are in place.”
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