“NHS staff are experiencing unacceptable levels of burnout and discrimination” 

On 13 March, the NHS published its annual staff survey results. This is an overview of the workplace experiences of NHS staff and offers an insight into what working life is like for the thousands of people that look after the nation's health and wellbeing. For anyone working in the NHS, it's unlikely that the survey's findings that reveal consistently high levels of burnout and stress will come as a surprise.  

Let's start with the positives. It's welcome to see that the findings from this year's survey show some slight improvements in employees' work-life balance and an increase in staff reporting good experiences with their line management. 71 per cent of respondents said that they could approach their line manager about working flexibly and 72 per cent said that manager valued their work.  

These results have slightly improved upon last year, which shows consistent levels of high-quality and approachable line management within the health service. 

Having a manager that cares about your work and helps you balance your work and personal life, can have a huge impact in how psychologically safe and happy you feel in your role, so this is a really meaningful improvement. 

However, the overall results are pretty damning and paint a picture of a workforce continuing to struggle with their mental and physical health due to their work environment, alongside dealing with an increased risk to their safety. Shockingly, 14 per cent of respondents said they had experienced physical violence from patients and/or the public, a figure that has increased 0.5 per cent since the last survey. 

That's before we consider how the recent NHS reforms will be making people feel. This survey was carried out before the government announced they were abolishing NHS England; a decision that will likely be making thousands of people working in the NHS anxious about what their future looks like. 

The fact that around a third of NHS staff experience burnout because of their work and only 34 per cent say that there are enough staff members in their organisation for them to carry out their role properly, speaks to a long-term lack of investment and resources (Darzi Report).  

Nevertheless, the most concerning finding for me is the reported increase in the number of staff saying that they have experienced discrimination and physical violence from patients, their families, and colleagues. I know from my own experience in previous workplaces how damaging being at the receiving end of offensive and abusive language is and it pains me to see so many people saying that they are experiencing workplace discrimination. 

I've led on initiatives that support staff wellbeing through training, coaching, and mentoring and seen first-hand how having access to a service like the one I lead can help staff feel listened to and like they aren't alone when they're struggling. However, not all trusts have a gold standard high quality evidence-based specialist psychological therapies service for staff wellbeing and this type of workplace postcode lottery is having devastating consequences for staff.  

It goes without saying that NHS staff should not have to go to work and worry about their safety, but right now, they're reporting unacceptable levels of burnout and discrimination. Working environments that support staff, and their wellbeing are not only a moral imperative, but research has shown that they directly impact the quality of patient care and services. 

There are around 106,000 NHS staff vacancies, and findings like these illustrate why NHS Trusts may struggle with recruitment and retention. Lord Darzi's 2024 report on the performance of the NHS provided evidence that a combination of staff disengagement and the long-term impacts of the pandemic meant that staff were taking 'distressingly high levels of sickness absence'.  

These findings are echoed by a pre-Covid 2019 report from the NHS Staff and Learners' Mental Wellbeing Commission Chair, Sir Keith Pearson, that found one in three NHS workforce staff have felt work related stress and one in two have gone to work when they were unwell because of pressures from managers, colleagues or themselves. 

We need measures that support the NHS workforce with their wellbeing, which includes investment in dedicated evidence based psychological therapies and interventions as the gold standard mental health support for staff, and more systemic interventions designed to improve working practices, alongside increased resources and staffing capacity.  

The BPS has campaigned tirelessly for more resources and spending for NHS staff mental health, which has included a comprehensive review into the benefits of staff mental health and wellbeing hubs. Not only did the staff interviewed for the report say how beneficial it was to receive support swiftly and at their workplace, the data showed that the hubs helped dramatically reduce the number of days staff took off sick. 

If our aim is to move towards an NHS workforce that's resilient, fulfilled and where individuals can see a long-term career working in healthcare, we need to act when we see results like those from this staff survey. Especially during this period of change and uncertainty in the health service, my hope is that decision makers in the NHS will truly listen to what staff are saying they need and engage with their views in a meaningful and impactful way.