Over half of NHS staff work unpaid overtime every week, survey finds

This past year has sent shockwaves through an already challenging working environment in the NHS. From the withdrawal of nursing bursaries and junior doctors’ strikes to the uncertain impact of Brexit on 58,000 EU nationals currently working in the health service, workforce pressures continued to build for an already overstretched service.

So what do the findings of the latest NHS staff survey, released on Tuesday, tell us about how staff are coping? Covering 316 participating NHS organisations, the survey is the biggest in the world, capturing the experiences of more than 423,000 healthcare professionals across the country.

The good news is that despite the tremendous pressures the NHS faces, nearly three quarters of staff remain enthusiastic about their job, while 70% said they would be happy with the standard of care provided by their organisation if a friend or relative needed treatment. The proportion of staff who reported feeling unwell due to work-related stress is at its lowest since 2012, down to 37%.

Responses addressing another key aspect of staff motivation – feeling empowered to contribute suggestions for improving work practices – also signalled positives. More than 70% of staff said that there are frequent opportunities to show initiative in their role, and 75% reported making suggestions to improve the work of their team or department. The survey did indicate room for improvement, however. Only a small majority of staff (56%) stated that these suggestions were actually acted upon – staff feedback does not appear to always translate into tangible change.

As is to be expected in such a pressured working environment, the survey does highlight some challenges for the NHS. More than half of staff (56%) report having attended work in the last three months despite feeling unwell, due to pressure from either their manager, colleagues or themselves. This is, however, a significant improvement since 2012, when 64% attended work despite illness. Most of this pressure comes from staff themselves (92%), rather than from managers (26%) or other colleagues (20%).

Generally, staff report feeling that managers are invested in their health and wellbeing. Most say that their immediate manager takes an interest in their health and wellbeing (67%) and that their organisation more broadly takes positive action on the health and wellbeing of staff (90%). These figures are on a par with those from last year’s survey and describe a workforce committed to working together and supporting one another to deliver high quality care – one that struggles more with heavy workloads and external pressures.

A key aspect of wellbeing is maintaining a healthy work-life balance and this is another area that contains some worrying figures. Staff report being satisfied with the opportunities to work flexibly – but 59% are, on average, working additional unpaid hours each week. Overall, the proportion of staff working additional hours is 72%, indicating that not enough has been done to alleviate workloads in light of similar results in recent years. The steady increase in both paid and unpaid overtime since 2012 is concerning as research repeatedly suggests that relying on tired and over-worked staff can lead to poorer standards of care.

The results of the 2016 staff survey suggest NHS staff are showing remarkable resilience despite the huge pressures that have been placed on the system. However, with external pressures such as Brexit likely to exacerbate existing problems in future years, a concerted effort is required from the government and NHS England to ensure that the positives to be found in staff motivation and engagement this year are not lost. NHS staff are subject to immense pressures that are unlikely to ease without significant support.

• Rory Corbett is a senior research associate at Picker, a charity that co-ordinates the NHS staff survey on behalf of NHS England
  

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Over half of NHS staff work unpaid overtime every week, survey finds

Hospitals" premium-rate overtime payments soar

Spending on premium-rate overtime by hospitals across the UK has risen by more than a third in the past two years, a freedom of information request has revealed.

Hospitals can pay consultants a higher-than-normal rate for extra shifts. Some hospitals have paid up to £1,000 for four hours’ work, research by the BBC found, while rates of £600 a shift are common – three or four times consultants’ normal rate of pay.

The average amount paid in high-cost overtime last year was £13,356 per consultant. One doctor at Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS foundation trust made £375,000 on top of their salary from the shifts.

Figures from 114 of the 186 trusts and health boards show the amount hospitals spend on high-cost overtime is increasing. In 2015-16, £168m was spent, up from £125m in 2013-14. Not all hospitals pay overtime at higher rates. Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS foundation trust stopped paying premium rates in 2010.

Andrew Foster, the trust’s chief executive, told the BBC: “I don’t think it is very defensible to pay a huge premium to one group of staff and not to other groups of staff.”

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, conceded that the figures revealed “challenges in some parts of the country” where trusts are “finding it difficult to recruit doctors to certain specialities”.

But speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he said: “We don’t believe that in every circumstance these extra payments are generated by shortages. Half of doctors receive these additional payments and half don’t. There are doctors who are working regularly at nights and weekends who aren’t attracting the same rates of additional pay.”

Mortimer said the NHS was working on new standardised arrangements for pay and overtime.

He said: “What we need is a system that can be applied fairly across all doctors, that recognises the extra work they do and pays them an overtime rate when they are working nights and weekends, but does that in a way that is consistent and rewards the doctors that work the most onerous working patterns.

“There are situations where there are shortages. But payments are being made in specialities in departments where there are enough doctors. It’s about the system that we apply and the pressure that people are under to try and provide services.”

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the payments were a sign of doctor shortages. Keith Brent, the BMA consultants’ leader, said: “These payments are made because there simply are not enough doctors and hospitals are under pressure to meet waiting time targets.”

The Department of Health said the NHS would have over 11,000 more doctors by 2020. A spokesman said: “Consultants do a vital job and should be properly rewarded, but this analysis shows why we are working with the BMA to replace a unique evening and weekend ‘opt-out’ in the existing contract.

“This will allow us all to promise patients urgent and emergency care of a consistently high standard across the week, and – as the hospitals themselves say – make better use of operating theatres while reducing big overtime bills.”

Hospitals" premium-rate overtime payments soar

Overtime becoming a truth of lifestyle for United kingdom workers

Too significantly operate was given as the primary purpose for doing overtime, with 40pc citing it, even though 20pc stated they stayed late simply because of stress from colleagues, and 11pc remained in the office due to the fact they have been afraid they may well shed their task if they didn’t clock up extra hours.

“It’s regarding to see so several people operating added hours due to pressures in their workplace,” mentioned Dr Mark Winwood, the insurer’s director of psychological solutions. “If a organization encourages a culture of prolonged hrs the place workers really feel they require to keep late, they may possibly be carrying out themselves a disservice.

“Protracted doing work hrs can dent an employee’s productivity and even lead to burnout. This is an issue employers would be sensible to tackle.”

He warned that employers also have a legal duty of care to safeguard the health and nicely-currently being of their staff and consequently must guarantee that they have a clear policy on overtime and make positive employees adhere to it.

“[Employers] should also invest in making certain that workers know what support providers are obtainable to assist them if they are struggling to control the pressures in their lives, regardless of whether at work or at house – for example, confidential counselling helplines,” explained Dr Winwood. “If not, they may discover themselves on the obtaining end of a work-relevant personal injury claim and/or up ahead of an employment tribunal.

“Overtime is as well usually worn as a badge of honour and observed by employees as a requirement for success. Senior management has a critical part to play in demanding this broadly held view and, by demonstrating robust leadership, can help to foster a workplace culture where workers are taken care of reasonably and better emphasis is placed on efficient functionality management rather than on just getting observed to be placing in lengthy hours.”

The study of 2,000 personnel also identified that less than half of individuals carrying out overtime get paid for it and that one particular in 10 employees perform via their lunch.

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Overtime becoming a truth of lifestyle for United kingdom workers