A recent survey of staff in the Sussex
Partnership NHS Foundation Trust found a high level of
dissatisfaction among mental health staff working for the Trust.
Staff complain of inadequate training
in the vital areas of health and safety and equality and
diversity.
The Trust is among the worst in the
country for effective team working. 13% of staff have been bullied by
a colleague, with 2% of respondents reporting being physically
attacked by their co-workers.
In addition, many trained nurses are
being forced to work 12-hour shifts. Staff report exhaustion and are
frustrated because they are too overworked to provide a quality
service.
Staff cannot expect their managers to
support them. The Trust is among the worst 20% in the country both in
terms of support from line managers and of effective action from the
employer regarding bullying or harassment.
Staff reporting work
related stress cannot depend on the organisation for
assistance. Workers' intention to leave their jobs is at a very high
level.
I am sure other workers are suffering
in a similar way and want to feel they are not alone.
...and Pay-Cuts
An article in the Mid Sussex
Times on 1/2/13 provides another insight into the working lives of
staff working for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Around 1,000 staff,including
nurses,stand to lose £600 per year through the removal of the
recruitment and retention premia agreed by the National Pay Review
Body and implemented as part of the Agenda for Change agreement
in 2005.
The Trust has justified the cut by
saying as they no longer have to give incentives to staff to recruit
them, the payment is no longer needed. They also say loss of pay
will protect patients and jobs.
The Trust Chief Executive, Lisa
Rodrigues,says that costs must be managed with 'forensic precision'.
It's unfortunate that Ms Rodrigues did not apply the same rigour
when the premium was first introduced. Many nurses were told that
their posts did not attract the payment, when in fact it was a
contractual right.
As for the protection of patients,the
Trust's own information show staff motivation at one of the lowest
levels in the country. It's time for a democratic NHS that protects
both service users and staff,and rejects the cuts to jobs and
services fuelled by a privatisation agenda.
