Website of the Department of Health

Government commitment to improve the health and well-being of NHS staff will save NHS up to £555m

The Government has accepted in full recommendations from an independent report into the health and well-being of NHS Staff which will help the NHS save up to £555 million, Health Secretary Andy Burnham announced today.

The recommendations could save up to 3.4 million working days equivalent to 14,900 extra staff and were made in a Department of Health commissioned report on NHS staff health and well-being led by Dr Steve Boorman.

Dr Boorman’s final report makes 20 recommendations, including:

• NHS organisations have a prevention-focused health and well-being strategy in place for all staff;
• Senior management made accountable at each organisation for staff health and well-being which will be measured as part of the annual assessments of NHS performance; and
• Early interventions for staff with musculo-skeletal and mental health conditions, to help minimise the time staff must spend suffering with these problems, and support early return to work.

If implemented, NHS organisations could see a reduction in staff sickness absence, an improvement in the quality of patient care and potentially save the NHS around £555 million each year.  These savings can then be ploughed back to improve the quality of patient care.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said:

'The purpose of the NHS is to improve the health and well-being of the general public. We cannot be serious about this if we are not committed to improving the health of those that care for our population.

'That is why I am accepting Steve Boorman’s recommendations and committing to help NHS organisations implement them.  We hope that by making these improvements we will provide real benefits for NHS staff and patients.

'We want to see the NHS become an exemplar for other organisations to follow, valuing its employees as it values its patients.  Savings of up to £555m per year that we can reinvest in the NHS will undoubtedly improve the quality of patient care and importantly in the current economic climate - save the taxpayer money.'

Director General of NHS Workforce, Clare Chapman said:

'Today our announcement underlines our pledge in the NHS Constitution to keep our staff fit and healthy.

'We must ensure the health of our workforce in order to provide a high quality of care to the one million patients the NHS sees, on average, every 36 hours.

“Our vision is that NHS staff will be ambassadors for health with patients, their families and the communities in which they live.'

Author of the Review Dr Steve Boorman said:

'Today's report sets out a vision for change that places the health and well-being of staff at the heart of how the NHS operates.  Delivering the review's recommendations will help improve patient care, help the service save money, and support NHS staff to lead the way in improving public health.

'I welcome the Government's swift response and want to thank the hundreds of stakeholders and thousands of NHS staff who have engaged directly with the review. There are remarkable examples of excellent practice in staff health and well-being throughout the NHS, and I fully support the Government's action plan to raise standards across the board.'

Head of Health at Unison Karen Jennings said:

'We welcome the government's commitment to supporting the NHS in improving the health and well-being of its staff.

'It is only right that the NHS should aim to lead the way in looking after the health of its staff.

'There is a solid connection between staff health and well-being and good standards of patient care, so it is in everyone’s interests to make the health of staff a priority.

'Prevention is always better than cure and targeting problem areas like back injuries and stress will save staff from unnecessary pain and the need to take valuable time off work and away from patients.'

The Department of Health has today published a proposed action plan for implementing these recommendations and has set aside £6.5 million for putting in place the national systems required to support the NHS to deliver this.