NHS Employers, the body with responsibility for employer issues in the NHS, has launched a national campaign to combat workplace stress.
Director Steve Barnett said more needed to be done to tackle stress levels in the NHS, and the impact of stress-related absence on patient care.
He said employers would be given more tools to help them identify, monitor and manage workplace stress, and there would be better information, advice and support for staff.
“Work-related stress is responsible for 30% of sickness absence in the NHS, costing £300m to £400m per year.
“When you extrapolate that across the 600 trusts in the country and take into account that the greatest impact of stress is in the hospital sector, that’s a significant financial burden for each trust,” he said.
