The 7th Annual NHS Staff Survey for the Care Quality Commission has underlined major resourcing challenges with 45% of those surveyed believing that there were not enough staff for them to do their jobs properly.

Commenting on the findings of the  survey Tom Hadley, Director of External Relations at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said:

“NHS staff are clearly concerned over current staffing levels. Unmanageable workloads create a downward spiral of increased  stress and absence rates which add to the resourcing challenge. NHS Trusts need to urgently review the allocation of staff and call on extra resource from agency and locum staff to fill gaps where necessary and ensure front line care needs are met.”

The survey also shows that only 44% of staff felt that their trust was committed to helping its staff balance their work and home life.

Commenting on this, Hadley concludes: “As well as helping employers, flexible resourcing is also of benefit for individual workers in the NHS.  Many chose to work through agencies so that they can pick and chose their hours. Flexible staffing arrangements are a vital component of any large organisation’s resourcing strategy and must be seen as part of the solution for cost-effective workforce management within the NHS .”

The REC launched a Public Sector Resourcing campaign in February 2010 to highlight the contribution of flexible resourcing to the delivery of front line services.  Where managed well it can contribute to efficient and effective delivery of public services.  Further information on the campaign is available at: http://www.rec.uk.com/press/news/960

Released on 19 March 2010