Comment EDITOR’S COMMENTwith LOUISE FRAMPTON THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL Editor


Louise Frampton louiseframpton@stepcomms.com Technical Editor Kate Woodhead Guest Features Writer Mona Guckian Fisher Journal Administration


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STEP COMMUNICATIONS ISSN No. 1478-5641


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Wake-up call on staff wellbeing


The latest NHS staff survey is a wake-up call to the government and NHS employers, as the latest feedback reveals worsening workforce experiences across several areas, including staffing levels, wellbeing, and engagement. Almost 1 in 7 NHS staff (14.47%) were physically attacked by a patient or the public last year – the highest rate for three years, according to the responses collected by Picker. The shocking statistics also found a record percentage of staff were subjected to unwanted sexual behaviour – rising steeply to almost 1 in 3 ambulance staff (31%). In addition, nearly 1 in 10 staff (9.26%) said they were subjected to discrimination from the patient and the public – the highest on record. The number of staff who would recommend their workplace to others also fell to 58.05%, from 60.79% in 2024. Danny Mortimer, from NHS England, said: “These figures paint a deeply worrying picture of the abuse our hardworking NHS staff face. Staff safety and wellbeing is paramount, and we want everyone experiencing any kind of unwanted incident to feel confident enough to report it. But while that behaviour is completely unacceptable, we must look at what more we can do to support the people who keep our services running. We know about the everyday pressures staff face – such as not being able to get decent food on a night shift – and we haven’t moved fast enough to fix them. Staff have worked so hard to improve NHS performance and deliver care over winter, as shown in the latest performance figures. These survey results show it is now for the NHS to deliver improvements for staff because there is so much more to do to make the NHS a better place to work.” The survey results highlight a range of ongoing challenges: Health and wellbeing scores are unchanged, but some indicators have deteriorated: l Positive employer action on wellbeing fell from 57.5 per cent to 54.8 per cent. Stress and burnout continue to be significant issues: l Staff reported work-related stress increased from 41.65 per cent to 42.3 per cent. l Nearly one in three described themselves as ‘burnt out’. Flexible working scores remain broadly static: l 57 per cent were satisfied with flexible working opportunities.


Furthermore, the proportion of staff agreeing that there are enough staff at their organisation to do their job properly decreased by one percentage point, from 34% in 2024 to 33% in 2025. Measures of staff engagement have also declined, with lower proportions of staff looking forward to going to work (52%; down from 54% in 2024) or feeling enthusiastic about their job (66%; down from 68% in 2024). Racism also continues to pervade the NHS. One in five Black and minority ethnic staff reported abuse, bullying or harassment from patients or the public, compared with just 5% of white staff. 14% said they have faced similar behaviour from colleagues, managers or team leaders, double the rate reported by 7% their white colleagues. Commenting on the Survey, Chris Graham, Group CEO at Picker, said: “NHS staff will be


expected to play a central role in driving change in the coming years; their buy-in and readiness for change are essential to the success of the 10-Year Plan. Patient groups, too, will be rightly concerned about the drop in the proportion of staff who believe that patient care is their top priority – especially following the decision to abolish the National Guardian’s Office and Healthwatch England.” Ultimately, we must do more to care for the carers; they are the backbone of the NHS, after all. NHS leaders must make this a priority going forward. Racism, abuse, burnout and bullying must be tackled head on. The full staff survey is available at: https://www.nhsstaffsurveys.com/


louiseframpton@stepcomms.com Get in touch and give us your views, email me:


April 2026 I www.clinicalservicesjournal.com 5


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