HCSA has warned NHS employers to act on pay and pensions and after the 2018 NHS Staff Survey revealed intense pressure on hospital workforces.
Among other findings, the Survey (comparisons to 2017 figures) revealed:
- 39% (+2) of staff in Acute, Specialist Acute or joint Acute and Community Trusts reported "feeling unwell due to work related stress in last 12 months."
- 52% (+/-0) of staff in Acute, Specialist Acute or joint Acute and Community Trusts reported "attending work in the last 3 months despite feeling unwell because they felt pressure from their manager, colleagues or themselves."
- Over a quarter of staff in Acute, Specialist Acute or joint Acute and Community Trusts reported "harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, relatives or the public in last 12 months" (27%, +/-0) or from other staff (26%, +1).
- Less than half (45%, -1) of staff in Acute, Specialist Acute or joint Acute and Community Trusts said they had reported their "most recent experience of harassment, bullying or abuse."
HCSA President Professor Ross Welch said: ”The 2018 NHS Staff Survey lays bare the impact that widespread vacancies are having on hospital teams.
"It reflects a system in denial over the scale of the current workforce crisis, with a third of the hospital staff being made made sick by work-related stress, and half feeling pressured into attending work despite being ill, risking patient safety.
"Equally disturbing are the findings around bullying, abuse and harassment, with a quarter of hospital staff affected but fewer than half reporting it.
"These figures are predictable but no less shocking for it - now the onus is on ministers and employers to act rather than leave these findings languishing on a spreadsheet.
"We require real action to address the one in 10 medical vacancies, stem the exodus of senior NHS doctors into retirement or the private sector, and ensure the next generation is nurtured and supported rather than driven to other healthcare systems or career choices.
"It is increasingly recognised that wellbeing at work influences organisational efficacy, but to do so requires individuals to feel passion, a sense of purpose and a feeling that they are valued.
"This has been consistently eroded through decade of real-terms pay cuts for medical staff, the perverse impact of changing pension taxes and rules and the increasing pressures of the job.
"That's why HCSA is calling for a 5.1% basic pay rise for all grades of hospital doctor, and a joint union-employer taskforce to stem the outward flow of our most experienced doctors."
HCSA made the call for a pay rise and action on pensions in its 2019 submission to the DDRB pay review body last month.