A quarter of doctors and a third of nurses working for the NHS are under overwhelming pressure each day from managers to behave in ways that undermine patient care, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). In a survey of 1,021 healthcare workers, the organisation also found that less than three out of every five NHS staff feels confident enough in their senior management to report concerns over the quality of patient care.

The situation is seemingly so severe that 40% of healthcare workers fear their organisations are vulnerable to the next patient care scandal. Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA) president Kevin Croft argued that the findings reflect a need to refocus on developing a better working culture within the NHS.

“These survey results are disappointing,” he said, “[and] reinforce the need for a much greater focus on the staff experience, good people management and staff engagement – at both a system and local level – to improve the patient experience. We know there is a clear correlation between a positive staff experience and better health outcomes for patients. Good-quality people-management information which shines a light on these issues can play a crucial role in helping care providers understand what underpins good patient care and provide earlier insight if things are going wrong.”

Titled Employee Outlook: Focus on Culture Change and Patient Care in the NHS, the study aimed to investigate the mood among key workers within the healthcare sector and identify ways in which the NHS can spot potential problems in their earliest stages, following the high-profile scandal around poor patient care at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

However, the findings suggest that the NHS still has many improvements to make. Just 44% of healthcare workers said they have seen their trusts undertake positive initiatives to improve patient care in the past 12 months, while almost a fifth (19%) consider the improvement schemes they are working under to be ineffective. Croft – who doubles as director of people and organisational development at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, added:

“To a large degree, efforts to improve the quality of patient care will hinge not on changes to regulation or new codes of practice but on the quality of leadership and management and the extent to which NHS staff can be engaged at work. This is why the HPMA has launched its APPRECIATE Campaign to improve the aspects of people management needed to create patient-centric organisation cultures – including empowerment, team working, communication, recognition, personal and professional development, and effective performance management.”

Find out more about the APPRECIATE Campaign (PDF)