More than a third of health workers experience work related stress

More than a third of health workers in North Wales have been ill or injured as a result of work related stress, a new survey has revealed.

Almost 5,300 staff at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), which runs the region’s three main hospitals in Wrexham, Bangor and Bodelwyddan, took part in a poll to gauge their views on working for the NHS.

It found that 34 per cent of those who responded had suffered work related stress during 2018.

Meanwhile, more than a fifth of them said they had been subjected to harassment or abuse from patients, and just under 20 per cent were affected by bullying from managers or colleagues.

Health board officials have now set out plans to try and improve staff morale.

It includes a review of how professionals are supported following a traumatic event, as well as putting support in place to help them manage their money.

In a report, BCUHB’s head of organisational development said involving staff in any changes was important.

Nia Thomas said: “The 2018 results for BCUHB revealed a number of positive improvements since the 2013 and 2016 survey and whilst we are behind the overall NHS Wales scores on some questions, we have made significant improvements in many areas.

“The top three areas for improvement at an organisational level were work related stress, harassment, bullying or abuse and executive team visibility and engagement.

“The relationship staff have with their work and the health board can make a real difference to their experiences at work, and the experiences service users have when they access our services.

“Staff engagement helps to develop strong positive feelings and attitudes amongst staff towards their work and the health board.”

Measures outlined to tackle bullying include providing increased training for managers and frontline staff.

A number of events were held during December 2018 to seek views on how morale can be improved. However, the turn out was said to be low because work pressures meant most staff could not attend. Mrs Thomas said more support was needed from senior managers in order to release workers to go to the events moving forward.

.
By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme).