East Lancashire hospitals criticised by own staff

The finding has been branded ‘outrageous’ and ‘terrible’, with Burnley council leader Gordon Birtwistle saying hospital chiefs ‘should be ashamed’.

The information has been released as part of a staff survey by the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, which manages both hospitals.

The survey, which is organised by Care Quality Commission and carried out at trusts across the country, also showed that only:

* 33 per cent of staff believed there was enough staff for them to be able to do their job properly.

*51 per cent said they would recommend the trust as a place to work.

*53 per cent said care of patients was the trust’s top priority.

The results however also showed improvements in several areas and the trust said staff were “feeling happier in the workplace”.

Coun Birtwistle said: “This survey is terrible from the hospitals’ point of view as it is a shocking thing that less than half of the staff would want their own relatives or friends treated at the hospitals.

“What does that say about the standards of care?

“It shows that the hospital is overwhelmed and they cannot cope with the level of patients.”

The report highlighted that staff recommendation of the trust as a place to work or receive treatment was in the lowest 20 per cent in the country.

It also showed that staff intending to leave their job was above average compared to other trusts.

Members of the trust board were told in a report that there was, “also a perception that when staff complaints are made, not enough is done in response to those complaints”.

Coun Roy Davies, chairman of Blackburn with Darwen’s health scrutiny committee, said: “This is very concerning and it is terrible that staff who work at the hospital wouldn’t want their own friends and relatives treated there.

“The hospital management need to closely scrutinise these results and take a look at a way of improving the service because at the moment it is just not acceptable.”

The survey, which was sent to 850 members of staff, had 399 responses, which according to the trust is above the minimum needed to make the results reliable.

It analysed 40 key findings, including support to do a good job, errors, near misses and incidents.

In several areas there were improvements from last year, including a reduction in staff reporting work related stress as well as an increase in workers job satisfaction.

The trust was also in the top 20 per cent in the country for the low number of staff reporting harassment, bullying and violence and for providing a good work/life balance.

Peter Pike, former Labour MP for Burnley, said: “The trust have to take all aspects of the survey seriously and not just the points that suit them.

“They cannot just cherry pick the bits that are favourable and disregard the rest.

“The trust should be very concerned about the things which have emerged in the survey and the chief executive needs to take urgent action.”

Former hospital trust chairman Ian Woolley said he was surprised so many staff would not recommend the hospitals.

He said they had many "excellent clinicians and dedicated nurses" and he was satisfied that the general experience of patients was positive.

Ian Brandwood, director of Human Resources at the trust, said: “The annual NHS staff survey shows for each trust the perceptions that staff have of their workplace.

“Few, if any, hospitals trusts have matched the improvement shown in responses by East Lancashire Hospitals’ staff.

“Anonymous surveys of patients show that they are happy with their experiences in hospital, and the rates of MRSA and C. Difficile infection are lower than ever before.

“Clearly, this year’s staff survey has shown that our employees are feeling happier in the workplace, but it has also identified the need for improved communication so that the people who are looking after our patients know that their hard work is resulting in constantly-improving, excellent care.”