Nearly four in ten staff at Brighton and Hove’s main hospital trust said that they had seen potentially harmful errors, near misses or incidents in just one month.
The figure – 38 per cent – is highlighted in a report on the annual NHS staff survey, published today (Tuesday 23 February). It compares to a national average of 31 per cent.
The report also flagged up that 35 per cent of staff said that they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, relatives or the public in the previous 12 months. This compared with 28 per cent nationally.
On a positive note, staff motivation at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust was reported to be higher than the year before although still below the national average.
And 82 per cent of staff had had an appraisal in the previous 12 months, up from 73 per cent, although again the figure was still below average. And the quality of appraisals was also below average, according to staff.
The trust was among the worst 20 per cent of all acute hospital trusts for staff working extra hours, suffering work-related stress and experiencing physical violence from patients, relatives or the public.
It was in the same poorly performing cluster – the worst 20 per cent – in response to more than half a dozen other questions.
Staff satisfaction with the quality of their work, the patient care that they could provide, the support from managers and “satisfaction with resourcing and support” were all in the bottom 20 per cent of trusts.
The trust’s results were also in the “worst 20 per cent” bracket for 13 out of 32 questions and worse than average for 12.
It was rated average in response to six questions and better than average in just one area – with staff agreeing that their role made a difference to patients.
Some 346 staff took part in the survey – a response rate of 41 per cent. This was average – and an improvement on the 34 per cent a year earlier.
Some senior figures at the trust have questioned how representative the survey is when it reflects the views of such a small proportion of the 7,000 or so staff.
But they trust board and senior managers will be given presentations about the results and draw up plans to tackle the problem areas.
