More than 60% of NHS organisations believe up to half their staff may be suffering from workplace stress, the workforce body NHS Employers has said In a report published to coincide with last month’s National Stress Awareness Day.
The move is intended to kick-start a campaign to help NHS employers and staff to recognise stress and deal with it more effectively, said NHS Employers.
The survey also found that 35% of employers polled said their organisations had carried out a risk assessment for stress (normally at one to three-year intervals). The rest either had not carried out an assessment, or it was not clear wheterh an audit had been carried out or not.
Almost one third (29%) said their organisations had a stress policy and a further 6% said they had plans to set up a policy.
Counselling was the most popular stress prevention technique used by organisations, with 74% of organisations offering it to their staff.
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About 43% of respondents said they had redesigned jobs to tackle stress, 42% offered stress management training and education, and 40% provided health checks.
Julian Topping, NHS Employers’ head of workplace health and employment, said: “Stress costs the NHS millions every year. We want more staff and employers to take stress seriously and know where they can go to get advice and help.”
