HSE working with NHS to reduce risks to staff and patients

HSE Press Release - E031:04 - 10 March 2004

Responding to the findings of the staff survey published today by the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), Chris Taylor, Head of the Health Services Unit at the Health and Safety Executive, said:

"The findings about the risks faced by NHS staff are useful and confirm what we already know. Stress, manual handling, and violence, for example, are a significant problem for staff and the illness and disruption they cause place a major burden on the delivery of health services.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are working with health services to improve working conditions for NHS staff and at the same time improve the service to patients. Health Service are a priority for HSE and our inspections of NHS trusts are already focusing on the major risks highlighted by the CHI survey.

We are also working with the Department of Health, the main NHS agencies and staff organisations to provide the tools for improving health and safety. Initiatives include:

• a national package of training on managing violence and aggression (run by the Counter Fraud and Security Management Service);
  
• practical guidance on managing work-related stress in healthcare;
  
• work with the National Patient Safety Agency and NHS Estates on the design of safer hospitals; and
  
• education on health and safety for undergraduate medical students (with the Council for the Head of Medical Schools).

The CHI report illustrates why sensible health and safety needs to be an integral part of any efficient organisation. NHS trusts and their managers should take an active role in the health and safety of their staff, to ensure the delivery of top quality care to patients.

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