Helping the NHS Evaluate and Promote the Health of its Workforce

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Background

The NHS is eager to support the health and wellbeing of its workforce.

Working initially with around a dozen NHS organisations across primary, community and acute sectors, NHS England has established a programme to:

  • improve the health and wellbeing of its workforce;
  • reduce sickness absence and associated costs; and
  • demonstrate that the NHS is ‘getting our own house in order’ as it makes a case for the role of work in supporting health and wellbeing.

“To ensure the NHS as an employer sets a national example in the support it offers its own 1.3million staff to stay healthy.”

Objective of the NHS’s strategy to 2020, the Five Year Forward View

The programme will lead to a culture change in leadership and management support for staff health and wellbeing. It also involves supporting new or enhanced health and wellbeing services, including healthier food, rapid support for common mental health or musculoskeletal problems, and providing NHS Health Checks in the workplace.

Survey Aims

The NHS commissioned RAND Europe to conduct a comprehensive survey of staff health and wellbeing at a selection of NHS organisations. The survey, which will take place in May 2016, will map in detail the physical and mental health of NHS staff as well as their perceptions of existing work-wellbeing initiatives and organisational culture.

  • The survey is for employees and the employer. This will provide a rounded picture of health and wellbeing at each organisation.
  • In return for answering the survey, each participant will receive a personal health report. While we hope staff will respond to the survey, it is entirely voluntary.
  • Participating NHS organisations will benefit by receiving an organisational health report which aggregates the data of their staff and compares them with other NHS organisations.
  • A public report will combine the (anonymised) data from all participating organisations to give an overview of NHS staff health and wellbeing.
  • All data will be kept confidential; no personal identifiable data will be shared.
  • The survey will take place in May 2016

Learn More

The initiative is part of a larger drive to improve and promote health and wellbeing. Public Health England launched the One You campaign to support people to live more healthily, especially in midlife.

Individuals and organisations participating in the survey can obtain further information online using the Frequently Asked Questions page. The Useful Information page covers such matters as data protection and confidentiality.