Hospital welcomes results of staff survey

1:52pm Thursday 17th April 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

Health bosses in the district have welcomed the findings of a staff survey which has put Airedale NHS Trust among the best in the country.

Airedale was in the top 20 per cent of all acute trusts in England in nine key areas.

The survey was carried out by the Healthcare Commission, which between October and December last year asked a random sample of staff nationally about their experiences working for the NHS.

Questionnaires were sent to 781 Airedale NHS Trust staff and 389 responded.

Staff reported improvements in infection control and patient safety, support from managers and high levels of appraisal, job satisfaction and training opportunities.

Ann Wagner, director of corporate development at Airedale NHS Trust, said: "Our aim is to have a first-class workforce with everyone contributing their best to make the patient experience as good as possible.

"We are very pleased to see these significant improvements for the trust in developing and supporting our staff. Our staff are on the front line of patient care every day and if they feel positive about their work and their employer then this has real benefits for those patients and the care they give."

Airedale NHS Trust was among the top performers nationally for the percentage of staff appraised (which had increased from 43 per cent in 2006 to 78 per cent), the percentage of staff having well structured appraisal reviews and relevant training, learning or development, and health and safety training.

It was also ranked well on work-related stress, the fairness and effectiveness of reporting procedures, the availability of hand-washing materials and job satisfaction.

In other findings, 13 per cent of staff said they had experienced physical violence from patients, service users or their relatives in the past year - up slightly on the 2006 percentage of 11 per cent.

Twenty-three per cent said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse. That figure was below the national average and down on 2006. Nineteen per cent of staff said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from colleagues or managers.

The trust scored 3.57 - above the national average - on a scale of one (poor) to five (very well) for the extent to which it took effective action when staff were physically attacked or bullied, harassed or abused.

Staff were asked about the extent to which they had clear goals in their jobs, received feedback on their performance and were given the opportunity to participate in decision making. The trust scored 3.35, up on the 2006 figure and above average nationally.

A score of 3.59 was achieved on the support, guidance and feedback staff felt they received from their immediate manager.

Staff were also asked about the general climate within the trust, with questions covering a range of issues including internal communication, employee involvement, innovation and patient care. The score of 2.85 was above average.