News

NHS accidents rising

A report by the National Audit Office says that accidents are major factors in NHS staff absences, and many are caused by increased workloads and staff shortages.

NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp has promised to step up government action to improve the health and safety of NHS staff and Unison is calling on the Department of Health to introduce safer needles to help combat needlestick injuries in the light of the report.

The NAO report into managing health and safety risks finds that the number of accidents involving health service staff has gone up by almost a quarter, despite government targets of a 20 per cent reduction.

Moving and handling, needlesticks and sharps injuries, slips, trips and falls and exposure to hazardous substances – the main types of accidents – had gone up by 24 per cent to 135,000, it says.

The NAO says that progress across NHS trusts is ‘patchy’, with 64 per cent reporting an increase in accidents.

And work-related stress ‘has emerged as a serious issue, with over two-thirds of NHS trusts reporting an increase in the last three years’.

Over a fifth of trusts cited staff shortages and increased workloads as contributory factors in the rise in accidents.

But greater awareness of the need to report accidents and better recording systems had also contributed to the rise.

The NAO calls on the DoH to develop a national health and safety strategy. It urges NHS trusts to review their health and safety policies to ensure staff understand the need for accurate and timely accident reports.

Sir Nigel welcomed the report. ‘We will be stepping up action in response to some of the recommendations they have made.’

John Richards, Unison national officer and a member of the NAO expert advisory group, called on the DoH to follow the lead of the US, which had halved needlestick injuries by introducing safer needles and new safety legislation.

He said: ‘Trusts are trying to save pennies but are putting workers’ lives at risk. This is a false economy because needlestick injuries lead to a range of expensive tests for diseases, time off work, compensation claims and more importantly a great deal of both physical and mental anguish.’