§ 33. Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has put into effect with the aim of increasing morale in the NHS. [67192]
§ Mr. Denham"Working Together: Securing a quality workforce for the NHS", a framework for managing human resources in the National Health Service, was circulated to the NHS on 22 September 1998 and is a major step forward in our drive to meeting the aspirations of both staff and employers. The pay review bodies have welcomed the initiatives that we announced to improve the quality of the working lives of staff.
By April 2000 employers will, among other measures, have to:
have systems in place to record and monitor workplace accidents and violence against staff, and have published strategies in place to achieve a reduction in such incidents;have policies and procedures in place to tackle harassment by staff and service users, supported by monitoring and reporting arrangements to measure progress;have in place occupational health services and counselling available for staff;573Whave in place training and development plans in place for the majority of health professionals;have developed and reviewed their mechanisms for involving staff in planning and delivering health care;achieve year-on-year improvement in sick absence rates and, where applicable, targeted progress towards national minimum benchmarks;demonstrate year-on-year improvement in retention rates for all health professional staff and, where applicable, targeted progress towards national benchmarks;have undertaken an annual staff attitude survey to act as a benchmark against which improvements to the quality of working life can be measured.