News

NHS staff survey published

NHS England today publishes the results of the 2013 NHS Staff Survey which was carried out between September and December 2013. Over 265 NHS organisations and twice as many staff as last year (203,000) responded.

Key findings include:

  • Staff engagement: The survey includes a basket of indicators designed to measure staff engagement which is key to quality of care. All of these have improved. Two thirds of staff (66.4%) said ‘the care of patients/service users is my organisation’s top priority,’ an increase of 4.2% – (14% disagreed and 19% neither agreed nor disagreed). In addition, 57.7% would recommend their Trust as a place to work – (15% disagreed and 26% neither agreed nor disagreed). When asked if they agreed with the statement ‘If a friend or relative needed treatment, I would be happy with the standard of care provided by this organisation’ the question elicited a response of 64.7% responded positively, 2% up on 2012 – (11% disagreed with the statement with 24% not expressing a preference).
  • Roles, responsibilities and rewarding work: 90% of staff agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they feel their role makes a difference to patients.
  • Personal development: 84% of staff have had an appraisal in the last 12 months and 77% felt the appraisal helped them to agree clear objectives for their work.
  • Violence, harassment, bullying and abuse: 15% of NHS staff report experiencing physical violence from patients, their relatives or other members of the public in the previous 12 months which is comparable with 2012. This figure is higher amongst staff in ambulance trusts 33% and staff in mental health trusts 19%.
  • Whistle-blowing: 89% of NHS staff know how to report any concerns they have about fraud, malpractice or wrong doing, 71% would feel safe raising these concerns comparable to 2012 and just over half (54%) would feel confident that their organisation would address them (also comparable to 2012).

Neil Churchill, Director for Patient Experience at NHS England, said:

“This survey was carried out following a period of significant change in the NHS. Staff experience is one of the best predictors of future patient experience and the staff survey is a vital tool for improvement.

“Overall, the figures paint a picture of a system holding up well under pressure, with improvements being made in key areas such as staff engagement, appraisal and a willingness to recommend services to friends and family. It is good to see that staff are clear about their roles in delivering patient-centred care but we have further to go in ensuring that we address employee feedback about the factors which help or hinder them from consistently providing great patient experience. The introduction of the Friends and Family Test for all staff from 1 April is an important step forward and will enable us to track issues and improvements in real time, which will ultimately enhance patient care.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

“NHS staff have some of the hardest and most respected jobs in our country. It is good to see that more staff would recommend the NHS as a place to work and would want friends and relatives to be treated where they work.

“But we know we need to do even more and our response to the Francis report set out how the NHS can promote openness and support staff to raise concerns in order to protect patients and give high quality care.”

Read the full results of the NHS Staff Survey.