Two in five NHS staff in England felt sick from the stress of their job at some point last year, according to a survey.

The figure of 39.8% of staff feeling unwell as a result of work-related stress was the highest in five years. The NHS staff survey also found that increasing numbers of doctors, nurses and other personnel felt disillusioned, were working unpaid overtime and were thinking about quitting.

Experts said the results showed an “alarming downturn” in staff wellbeing that would inevitably damage the care patients received. They said more and more NHS staff were unable to cope with the strain caused by widespread understaffing, years of tight budgets and fast-growing demand for care.

The survey, based on responses from 497,000 employees of England’s 230 NHS trusts, provides the most in-depth insight into the concerns and experiences of its 1.2 million-strong workforce.

Other key findings include:

A majority (51%) are thinking about leaving their current role and 21% want to quit the NHS altogether.

More than three-quarters (78%) feel under unrealistic time pressures some or all of the time.

Nearly six in 10 (58%) say they do unpaid overtime every week, though that number is falling.

Nearly 28% have suffered back pain in the last year as a direct result of their work, up two percentage points since 2017.

Fewer than three in 10 (28.6%) feel their trust takes positive action to improve staff health and wellbeing.

Prof John Appleby, the chief economist at the Nuffield Trust thinktank, said: “After years of holding up against all the odds, today’s figures confirm an alarming downturn in the wellbeing of hardworking NHS staff.”

He said the growing proportion of staff falling sick due to stress and the decline in staff health and wellbeing generally were “not just a matter for staff themselves but have a knock-on effect on patients, too”.

Labour blamed the findings on government mismanagement of the NHS. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said: “Years of desperate underfunding, cuts, fragmentation and staff shortages have placed huge pressures on NHS staff, pushing many to feel burnt out and exhausted.

“It’s frankly appalling that nearly 40% of NHS staff report feeling unwell as a result of work-related stress, alongside the worst levels of health and wellbeing in the last five years. What’s more, satisfaction in the quality of care staff feel they can provide is falling, while a fifth of staff are considering looking for a new job. These are quite staggering findings with huge implications for the quality of care patients receive.”

Poor morale could exacerbate the already serious understaffing in the NHS, which has more than 100,000 unfilled vacancies – one in 11 of all posts. The survey found 51% of staff were considering leaving, 30% often thought about leaving the trust they worked for, 22% planned to look for a new job with a different trust in the next year and 16% intended to leave as soon as they could find another job.

Almost half (46%) of respondents said their trust was so short of staff that they could not do their job properly.

One in seven staff said they had been attacked by a patient or a patient’s relative over the past year, especially ambulance crews and mental health staff. Just under one in five said they had been bullied, harassed or abused by a colleague and 28% had seen an error or near miss in the previous month, up three points year on year and the highest in five years.

However, some positive findings emerged. More than six in 10 staff (62%) said they would recommend their trust as a place to work, 71% would recommend it as a place to be treated (up one point) and 81% were happy with the care they gave patients.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said: “I love the NHS – and it is nothing without its people, who dedicate their lives to caring for us in our times of greatest need. We must place the same emphasis on caring for the carers and our long-term plan for the NHS will build a more modern working culture where everyone feels supported and valued.



“It is encouraging to see more staff taking pride in their organisation and feeling able to speak up when they have concerns. But there is so much more to do. Too many staff are feeling physical and mental strain at work, and bullying and discrimination levels are still far too high. This is not acceptable and I will do everything in my power to give NHS staff the support they deserve.”