IPSWICH: Staff at Ipswich Hospital are among the least satisfied at work compared to other hospital employees in the country, a survey has revealed.

The results come from a national NHS staff survey, which consisted of 180 questions, was open from mid September last year to January. Of those at Ipswich Hospital who were invited at random to take part, 481 returned the survey – a response rate of 49 per cent.

Results revealed at the hospital’s board meeting yesterday showed that although performance in many areas has improved over time, such as the providing staff with personal development support, the overall assessment of staff engagement is in the worst 20 per cent of hospitals of a similar type. Staff were not happy with working extra hours and had poor motivation at work.

Andrew Reed, chief executive, said: “We have got to take this really seriously. We have become much better at capturing the patient experience, we now need to get better at capturing the staff experience.

“There are exceptional issues underpinning these things. We had a very bad winter. The staff were trying to cope with increased patient demand and we know this causes immense stress for staff.”

Julie Fryatt, director of human resources, said the results were “disappointing” and added: “We will run a condensed staff survey twice a year so we have that data on a much more real time basis.”

The areas where the hospital scored well included staff job satisfaction, receiving health and safety training, and staff intending to leave their jobs. The hospital also took part in the Healthcare100 best healthcare organisations to work and was placed in the listing for the second year running.

However there were areas where the hospital performed poorly compared to the national average, such as work pressure felt by staff, motivation at work, and working extra hours.

The report stated: “Very significantly these bottom ranking scores contribute to the overall assessment of staff engagement and is in the worst 20 per cent of acute trusts.”

Each head of the various departments (called business units) will be holding discussions with their staff to discuss the findings. There will be a progress update to the board in three months.

Action plans include more communication between senior managers and staff, and communication masterclasses.

n.Are you a member of staff at Ipswich Hospital and want to tell us your views? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.