§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of 89W work-related stress in the NHS on levels of absenteeism; and what measures he is taking to reduce (a) work-related stress and (b) staff sickness. [57797]
§ Mr. Milburn[holding answer 5 November 1998]Research has shown that National Health Service staff suffer substantially higher levels of stress than employees in the private sector and that this contributes to 40 per cent. of all sickness absence. The NHS Executive has issued guidance to all NHS trusts and health authorities on managing stress through its Health at Work in the NHS project and is piloting work based on this guidance at four trusts. The new strategic framework for managing Human Resources in the NHS is setting targets for reductions of sickness absence rates.