Staff are getting happier at York Hospital, say survey results

A survey of staff shows some improvement in overall confidence in the trust from 2014 to 2015.

Seventy three per cent of staff at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust surveyed last year agreed care of patients was the organisation’s top priority - a rise of seven per cent from 2014.

Sixty nine per cent believed the organisation acts on concerns raised by patients, a rise of three per cent, and 67 per cent said they would be happy with the standard of care provided by the trust if a friend or relative needed treatment, a rise of three per cent on 2014.

However there was no percentage rise in the proportion of staff who would recommend the trust as a place to work, which remained at 59 per cent in 2015.

The York trust performed better than the national average in terms of staff feeling under pressure to go to work when they felt ill, with 51 per cent saying they did, compared to a national average of 51 per cent.

Twenty four per cent said they had experienced harassment or bullying from patients or the public in the last year, compared to 27 per cent nationally and one per cent reported experiencing physical violence from other staff members, compared with two per cent nationally.

Sixty nine per cent said they were working extra hours, compared with 72 per cent nationally, and 22 per cent said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from staff in the last year, compared to 24 per cent in trusts nationally.

However, the York trust performed below national averages in terms of how many had appraisals - 80 per cent, compared to 86 per cent nationally.

Staff rated their satisfaction with the quality of work and patient care they are able to deliver as 3.87 out of 5 - below the national average of 3.94.

Only 50 per cent reported their most recent experience of violence, compared to 52 per cent nationally.

Between 2014 and 2015 staff experience had improved in terms of feeling pressure to work when feeling unwell, as well as their level of involvement, the extent to which they contributed to improvements at work, the confidence staff had in reporting unsafe clinical practice and the motivation they had at work.

Staff experience had deteriorated in terms of the percentage of staff believing the organisation provides equal opportunities for career progression or promotion and in terms of the percentage receiving appraisals.

There are currently 8,410 people working for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, a spokesperson said.

The next staff satisfaction survey will be held at the end of this year, with the results due to be published in 2017.