Shutterstock.com
More than half of NHS staff are continuing to work additional hours without pay and more employees last year admitted to feeling unwell because of work-related stress, according to the results of the latest NHS staff survey in England.
Some 58% of staff worked additional unpaid hours in 2017 compared to 59% in the previous year while 38% of staff in 2017 said they had felt unwell because of work-related stress in the previous 12 months compared to 37% in 2016, the survey of staff working for 309 NHS organisations revealed.
Staff are also increasingly dissatisfied with their pay; only 31% were satisfied with their salary last year compared to 37% in 2016.
And more staff were dissatisfied with the quality of work and care they were able to deliver in 2017; 81.20% said they were satisfied — the lowest figure for three years.
The survey was co-ordinated by the Picker Institute on behalf of NHS England.
NHS Employers’ chief executive, Danny Mortimer, said: “It’s disappointing but understandable that staff are less satisfied with the standard of care they are able to provide and that they are feeling more stressed. I am, however, encouraged that staff continue to be willing to recommend the NHS as a place to be cared for.”
Around 1.1 million NHS employees in England were invited to participate in the survey between September and November 2017; 487,227 staff took part in the survey, a response rate of 45%.
