What do staff think of working in the NHS?

The Healthcare Commission have published the results of the 2007 NHS Staff Survey, which had responses from over 155,000 people.

There were a number of positive outcomes:

• Staff were very positive about the support they receive from immediate managers
• More staff say they receive appraisals
• Staff are working less overtime and have good access to flexible working options
• Staff have opportunities to take up training or education through work
• There are fewer staff saying they saw errors or near misses and an improvement in the number who say it was reported

But:

• Staff are generally satisfied with their jobs, but do not feel valued by their trust
• There are encouraging signs of improvement in infection control but more needs to be done to make hand-washing equipment available
• Staff still report high levels of violence and abuse, but training in this area has improved
• Communication between staff and senior managers is poor
• Many ambulance staff do not think vehicles are safe to work in
• Some staff say the patients are not the top priority

To find out how staff in Stockport replied, view the summaries of replies by Trust, or by PCT.