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Press release: NHS Confederation welcomes upward trend in quality of NHS working lives in London

27 Jan 2004

The NHS Confederation today welcomes the Institute for Employment Studies study Healthy Attitudes: Quality of Working Life in the London NHS. The three-year study of more than 30,000 NHS staff in London has shown a trend towards better working lives.
David High, Director of Human Resources & Corporate Development, Lewisham Hospitals NHS Trust and chair of the London SHRINE network IES survey working group said "It is both remarkable and encouraging that over 3 years the attitudes of NHS staff have got more positive against a backdrop of increasing pressure to deliver the NHS Plan."
Margaret Boltwood, Director of Human Resources & Corporate Affairs, Whittington Hospital NHS Trust said "The three-year study has provided a useful tool to all London trusts to see how effective their HR strategies are. We have been introducing initiatives, like childcare co-ordinators, which have had a direct impact on staff satisfaction. Other useful lessons from the research include the importance of appraisals and the impact of the line managers' attitude on both staff retention and morale."
Alastair Henderson, Policy Manager at the NHS Confederation, said "This is another independent example alongside recent reports from CHI, the Audit Commission and the Nuffield Foundation that things are getting better in the NHS. We would hope to see these results replicated in the national staff survey from CHAI in March. "
Nigel Turner, Chair of the NHS Confederation's Human Resources Advisory Committee and Human Resources Director of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust said, " It is good to see evidence from staff themselves that they believe that working in the NHS is getting better."

ENDS

Notes for editors

1. The NHS Confederation represents the organisations that make up the NHS. Our members include the majority of NHS trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; trusts and NHS boards in Scotland; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.  The NHS Confederation has been approached by the Department of Health to take on the role and responsibilities of an employer's organisation. 
2. The survey results will be revealed at a conference on 27 January at the King's Fund.  For more information about the conference, please contact Daniel Reynold on 020 7307 2581
   

Contact details

1. Contact Media Relations Manager Joanna Clason on 020 7074 3306 or 07798 571078 or Senior Media Officer Amy Darlington on 020 7074 3304 or 07767 770309. For out of hours media enquiries, please call the Duty Press Officer on 07880 500726.
2. For detailed information about the IES study, please contact Tim Blanchard on 01727 850761/ 01954 715592
   

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