14.02.12
The tip of the iceberg
As more NHS staff inWalestake time off work due to stress and stress-related health problems, the Government there must acknowledge the negative impacts of cutbacks in the budgets as managers seek efficiency savings, and reassess how practical they can possibly be.
If NHS staff fear for their jobs, if more work is spread between fewer staff, if staff have less available resources with which to do their job, stress levels can only increase. The figures released by Welsh health boards imply only the beginning of the effects of increased stress levels among staff, which in turn will have a negative impact on the NHS in terms of the cost of sick-days and an even thinner spreading of staff over workload.
Certainly, NHS organisations throughout the UK should invest in the kind of occupational health programmes the Welsh government is implementing among its NHS staff in order to support the wellbeing of staff and reduce stress related illness.
However, considering only the consequences of stress is not enough; it may result in staff better coping under pressure, but ultimately they will still be suffering from anxieties which could be eliminated.
The Government should also think about how to reduce causes of stress in the first place by rethinking aspects of its health reform. Learning how to cope with stress touches only the tip of the iceberg; by targeting the causes of tension and strain, stress itself could be reduced.
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