Hospital staff tell of more stress as cuts bite

Leaders of a nursing union said the findings were “shocking” and are seeking an urgent meeting with hospital bosses.

The annual survey results put the hospitals trust among the worst in the country in several areas, including job satisfaction and support from managers.

And the situation is worsening, with more staff reporting work-related stress than the previous year, says the union.

The damning verdict comes as the health service contends with a spending squeeze.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is facing major cost-cutting and has been forced to change its forecast from a £10m overspend by the end of this financial year to aiming to break even.

Glenn Turp, regional director for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “We know from speaking to our members who work at Leeds Teaching Hospitals that morale is suffering and stress levels are on the rise.

“However, it is still really shocking to look through the figures from this latest staff survey and see this reflected in black and white.

“Knowing that there are more savings still to be made in the coming financial year we are fearful for what the future holds for patients and for our nurses and health care workers.

“We know that our members want to be able to provide patients with the compassionate care that they deserve, but we also know that resources and time are now so limited that this is challenging for even the most dedicated of nursing staff. The RCN will be seeking an urgent meeting with the trust to discuss the survey results in detail.”

Directors at the trust, which runs the city’s hospitals including Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s, say the results “continue to be an area of concern” and swift progress was needed.

Nearly 400 staff from the hospitals trust filled in the survey 
last year, which was sent to over half of their 14,000-strong workforce.

It showed 46 per cent had suffered work-related stress in the last 12 months, up from 29 per cent the previous year and higher than average.

The proportion feeling pressure in the last three months to attend work when unwell was up from 31 per cent to 40 per cent.

Out of 28 key findings in the survey, Leeds hospitals were worse than average or among the worst trusts nationally in 23.

Jackie Green, director of HR for the trust, said: “We are concerned about increases in reported stress and some staff saying they feel under pressure to return to work when unwell because we want staff to be able to give their best to patients when they are at work.

“We know that’s what staff want as well, so improving these areas is one of our top priorities.

“Staff absences mean we have fewer people available to care for our patients, so this year we are making a major effort to promote health and wellbeing for staff and reduce sickness absence.

“We know from the results of the national staff survey that staff across the NHS are under pressure and feeling less positive about their work, so we are pleased that our results showed some improvement.

“This trust believes that what is good for staff is also good for patients.”