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NHS Providers: We must build on progress supporting staff

Following the release of the NHS Staff Survey 2019, NHS Providers has reiterated the need for our healthcare service to build on progress to ensure staff feel valued, safe and supported.

Responding the survey, Saffron Cordery, Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Providers, said: ““Despite the significant pressures facing the NHS in terms of rising demand for care, and workforce vacancies, it is encouraging to see that staff reported improvements in the past year. More people feel satisfied with their pay, flexible working opportunities, and the support they receive from managers.

“It is particularly positive to see that more staff feel that the care of patients and service users is a top priority for their organisations, and would recommend their trust as a place to work. We’re also pleased to see fewer staff are working additional unpaid hours, though this is an area where continued and significant improvements are still needed.

“However, it is unacceptable that more staff are experiencing discrimination and violence from patients and members of the public, particularly at mental health and ambulance trusts, with no notable decline in instances of discrimination or bullying from managers and colleagues. It is very concerning to see that ethnic background is the most common factor linked to discrimination at work. We welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement that more will be done to tackle this and to hold those responsible to account.

“It is also worrying to see that more staff are feeling unwell due to stress, despite the fact that fewer people are thinking of leaving the NHS. The proportion of staff facing unrealistic time pressures in their jobs remains far too high and it is clear that funding restrictions around continuing professional development are limiting training opportunities with the lowest uptake in five years.

“Trusts are clearly making progress in ensuring their organisations are great places to work and they are not complacent. These figures show that there is much more to do locally to develop an inclusive, working culture within the NHS. Government and the national bodies must also play their part in creating the conditions in which trusts and their staff can thrive. Organisational culture is clearly improving, but more support is needed to improve recruitment and retention with 100,000 workforce vacancies across the NHS.

“We look forward to working with trusts and the national bodies to support the implementation of the NHS people plan to ensure that staff feel valued, safe, supported and are given the right tools for career progression and to deliver high-quality care to patients. The people plan is a clear opportunity to reset the culture across the whole NHS.”