The experiences of staff working in the NHS in England have improved across a range of important areas, including to new results from the NHS Staff Survey.
The survey was coordinated by the independent charity Picker on behalf of NHS England, and included responses from more than 700,000 NHS staff working across around 200 organisations.
Compared to the previous survey in 2022, staff are markedly more likely to say that they would recommend their organisation as a place to work; that they would be happy with the standard of care provided if a friend or relative needed treatment; and that they have the right support and resources to do their jobs.
However, results for many key measures of staff experience remain below pre-Covid levels.
Chris Graham, chief executive at Picker, said the survey is a "goldmine of insight" for those wishing to understand the experiences of their staff.
He said that while the survey showed positive moves forward, "there is much room for further improvement and an opportunity to build on progress over the last year to make the NHS the best possible place to work."
Satisfaction with pay improved by 5.6 per cent compared to 2022 – but remains low at 31.2 per cent.
Perhaps reflecting ongoing disputes, trends differ for different staff groups: while most are now more satisfied with pay than in 2022, the proportion of medical and dental staff who were satisfied with their pay fell by 4.5 per cent - continuing a steep decline from a high of 56.9% in 2020.
The survey included all directly employed staff in secondary and tertiary care organisations, ranging from consultants to care assistants and from porters to paramedics. Questions in the survey cover all aspects of work experiences, with a particular focus on those described by NHS England’s People Promise.
It also showed improvement in workload and resources. For example, more than 45 per cent of staff said that they are “able to meet all the conflicting demands on their time at work.”
A new question in the survey is whether staff had been the target of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature in the workplace, either from patients, the public or colleagues.
Over 8 per cent of staff reported being the target of unwanted sexual behaviour, and this figure was even higher in patient-facing roles.
The highest rates were reported by ambulance technicians and paramedics.
Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said the survey reveals "encouraging signs," but there is a long way to do.
He said: "There were only small improvements on the inclusion metric, with significant equality gaps remaining in the experience of women, those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled and LGBT staff."
Mortimer added that the results show "beyond doubt" that focusing on diversity and inclusion is key to improving the NHS for their staff and the diverse communities we seek to serve.
