National Health Service (NHS) staff working for Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust are being asked what they think about their working lives.    The Trust is sending out questionnaires to over 3,000 employees as part of the fifth national NHS staff survey.

“The overall aim of the survey is to gather information that will improve the working lives of those who provide care for patients and in doing so help us all to provide even better care,” said Paul Bentley, Acting Chief Executive at Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust.   “I urge all staff receiving a questionnaire to take part in this important national survey. Last year 45 per cent of employees returned completed questionnaires and this year we are hoping for even more.” 

In September and October a proportion of staff in every NHS trust in England will be invited to take part.  At Ashford and St. Peter’s though every member of staff apart from those on maternity or long term sick leave and Junior Doctors on short term postings, are being surveyed.   The survey contains questions about work life balance, team working, job satisfaction, training, management & supervision, violence and health & safety.    It is organised by the independent inspection body, the Healthcare Commission, in conjunction with the Staff Survey Advice Centre at Aston University.

Healthcare Commission Chief Executive, Anna Walker, said; “The first four national NHS staff surveys have all been great successes, with more than 200,000 people across the country taking part each year.

“These surveys have highlighted a number of important issues for staff, including for some, their experience of violence and harassment at work, stress and poor work life balance.  As a result of previous survey findings, the Healthcare Commission has made a series of recommendations to NHS organisations and the Department of Health to tackle these problems.  The annual surveys allow us to continue to assess and monitor the way staff are managed and how the highlighted issues have been handled.”

Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals will use the staff views expressed in the survey to introduce improvements in working conditions.    Following previous surveys Ashford and St. Peter’s has developed policies, procedures and training for the identification and management of workplace pressures; and extended the Trust’s employee assistance programme (EAP) to the 500 people who undertake voluntary work at our two hospitals.   The national staff survey also provides an opportunity for Ashford and St. Peter’s to benchmark ourselves against similar organisations and the national picture.

Collected data will be sent to Aston University in mid December and trusts will receive a detailed report of their survey findings in February 2008.   NHS  trust survey reports and data will be published by the Healthcare Commission in March 2008, together with  reports of the overall national findings.