NHS staff increasingly unhappy with care quality

Less than two thirds of staff in the NHS would be happy with the standard of care in their organisation if a friend or relative needed treatment, according to the national NHS staff survey 2022. The proportion who would recommend their organisation as a place to work is also declining, and almost one in three staff “often think about leaving”.

Results from the survey, which was coordinated by the independent charity Picker on behalf of NHS England, include responses from more than 600,000 NHS staff working across more than 200 organisations. They provide rich insight into the experiences of staff from all occupational backgrounds in secondary and tertiary care: from consultants to care assistants, and from porters to paramedics. Questions in the survey cover all aspects of work experiences, particularly focusing on those described by the NHS People Promise

One of the most concerning findings was a drop in the proportion of staff who agreed that “if a friend or relative needed treatment, I would be happy with the standard of care provided by [my] organisation”. Nationally, less than two thirds of staff (63%) agreed with this statement – a drop of 5% points since 2021, and of 11% points since 2020. More than one in eight staff members (13%) said that ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ with the statement – including almost a fifth of all staff in ambulance Trusts (19%).