Nearly 40% of NHS staff sick with stress, survey finds

The number of NHS staff suffering work-related stress is on the rise, with 38.4% feeling physically unwell as a result over the past year, compared with 36.7% in 2016, new figures show.

And the pressure appears to be taking its toll, with almost a third of staff (29%) reporting having witnessed “potentially harmful errors, near misses or incidents within the last month”, according to NHS England’s latest annual staff survey.

The survey was sent to a total of 1.1 million NHS England employees, of whom 487,227 responsed. The resulting report, published today, is the largest workforce survey in the world.

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The 2017 survey also found that 52.9% of staff had gone into work despite feeling unwell over the last three months, because they felt under pressure either from their manager, colleagues or themselves.

Just over 15% of staff say they experienced physical violence from patients, relatives or the public over the past year, and 28% experienced harassment, bullying or abuse.

Less than a third of all NHS workers say they were satisfied with their salaries last year, while more than 58% say they worked additional unpaid hours.

Responding to the survey results, Labour’s shadow health minister, Justin Madders, said: “The NHS Staff Survey shows yet again the extent to which this government has taken NHS staff for granted.

“Ministers need to do much more to give the brilliant staff of the NHS the support and respect they deserve. The chronic understaffing of our overstretched NHS is putting patients and their families at risk and needs urgent action from government.”

Infographic by www.statista.com for TheWeek.co.uk