Poor morale in the NHS could cause a workforce crisis, a survey by the Nuffield Trust has found.
In the survey of 67 senior managers and clinicians, 57% said that morale in their organisation was worse than it had been six months ago, with many noting it was low to begin with. This has sparked concerns that poor morale could lead to an exodus of staff.
‘A great deal of the current focus in the NHS is on the financial challenges it faces,’ said Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust. ‘These are undoubtedly severe, but I think they may be obscuring a problem that is at least as serious: the state of the workforce.’
Of those surveyed, 77% said that the biggest threat to morale was increased workloads, others said demand for general practice services and 27% cited pay restraint. Nearly half also said the financial pressures on their organisation were contributing to declining morale. According to the Nuffield Trust, poor morale in general practice was cited as a particular concern. ‘It feels increasingly like we are being asked to manage the decline of the NHS,’ said one respondent to the survey.
‘There has been a failure to plan the workforce to meet the demands of patients today, rather than the financial constraints of several years ago or the ambitions of different professional groups,’ added Mr Edwards. ‘This has often been compounded by short-termism – for example, by reducing investment in specialist nurses.’
The survey also highlights the knock-on impact of cuts to local authority care. It states that reductions in funding to social care have left health services to pick up the slack in caring for elderly patients. Additionally, 60% of respondents thought that the new measures announced in the spending review, such as allowing councils to raise council tax would not improve the situation.
‘Financial problems can be rectified with few long-term consequences other than the legacy of underinvestment in capital, maintenance and training,’ concluded Mr Edwards. ‘These are serious, but may be obscuring the workforce problem, which may be even more difficult to fix. Once the psychological contract with staff is broken, it may be impossible to reverse.’