Macmillan Cancer support responds to the NHS staff survey

“Worryingly today’s findings depict a picture of an NHS in England which still struggles to support, value and invest in the wellbeing and development of its staff, which as we know affects the quality of care delivered to patients. Despite staff well-being remaining a high profile topic over the last few years, it seems that very little has actually changed in the working culture of the NHS.

“We are particularly concerned to see that a third (33%) of NHS staff say that the care of patients is not their organisation’s top priority, whilst half (50%) still say they haven’t had any training in the last year on how to deliver a good experience to patients, such as how to have sensitive conversations.

“We know that most people with cancer say that how they are cared for by staff is just as important to them as getting the best medical treatment, so we need to see this Government and the next making sure that patient experience is at the heart of the NHS. To do this, the first step is to support all NHS staff to deliver the best possible care and the upcoming general election is the perfect opportunity to do so.”