§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to tackle ill-health among NHS employees; and if he will make a statement. [41850]
§ Mr. MilburnWe are committed to improving the health, safety and welfare of National Health Service staff. Our priorities are to reduce sick absence, organisational stress, accidents and violence and to increase staff control over the hours they work.
Action being taken includes: the publication on 18 May of new guidance on "The Management of Health, Safety and Welfare Issues for NHS Staff"; the production of a model for the management of organisational stress; the organisation of 8 health and safety roadshows to be held in the autumn as a forum for the exchange of good practice; research to identify good practice examples of ways in which violence against staff working in the community can be reduced, for publication in the summer; and an evaluation of self-rostering pilots to be published later this year.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the sickness absence levels for each grade of staff in(a) Warrington Hospital NHS Trust and (b)Warrington CHC Trust for each of the past five years. [41855]
§ Mr. MilburnThis information can be obtained from the two National Health Service trusts. Therefore my hon. Friend may wish to contact Mr. Norman Banner, Chairman of Warrington Hospitals NHS Trust and Mr. John Gartside, Chairman of Warrington Community NHS Trust for further information.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the relative incidence of ill-health among the NHS workforce compared to levels in other occupations; and if he will make a statement. [41853]
§ Mr. MilburnStatistics of the incidence of ill-health among the National Health Service workforce are not currently collected centrally, but we are looking at the feasibility of doing this. Guidance has been issued to help NHS managers locally to collect and act upon sickness absence data.