Health watchdog say NHS staff have faced “significant distress” over the past year

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has said that doctors, ambulance workers and other NHS staff in England have faced “significant distress” and harm over the past year as a result of long delays in emergency and urgent care.

The health safety watchdog, which monitors safety in the NHS in England, said many staff it interviewed for a national investigation “cried or displayed other extreme emotions” when asked about their working environment.

The HSIB found that NHS staff were reporting increased levels of worry, stress and exhaustion because they were not always able to help the patients most in need.

For an interim study, it spoke to nurses, doctors and other emergency workers, as well as taking evidence from the NHS and other national organisations.

A spokesperson for NHS England said there was “no doubt” that NHS staff have faced “significant challenges” this winter with record demand for emergency and urgent care.

“The safety of both patients and staff is vital, and the NHS takes staff health and wellbeing incredibly seriously with a range of support including dedicated helplines, wellbeing apps and coaching, as well as the option of flexible working.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said “We’ve published an urgent and emergency care recovery plan to further reduce pressure on hospitals by scaling up community teams, expanding virtual wards, and getting 800 new ambulances on the roads, and funding for staffing to go alongside that.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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