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NHS staff survey 2010

This is the eighth annual survey of NHS staff. The results help trusts to review and improve the work experiences of their staff so that they can provide better care to patients.


The results of the survey will be used to:

  • inform patients and the public of each trust’s results
  • feed our regulatory activities such as the monitoring of ongoing compliance and reviews

The Department of Health will also use the results to inform commissioning, service improvement and performance measurement, and to review and inform NHS policies.

National results

Almost 306,000 NHS staff were asked about their experiences between October and December 2010. Of these staff, 54% responded.

The 2010 survey reports 38 key findings about working in the NHS. 13 of these findings show improvement from last year’s survey, eight have deteriorated and 10 have remained the same.

The wording and response options for seven key findings changed for 2010, and therefore comparisons of these findings cannot be made.

Key findings

Among those staff who responded:

  • 77% have had appraisals in the last 12 months (69% in 2009)
  • 64% are happy with the standard of care provided by the trust (an increase from 62% in 2009)
  • 68% of staff say hot water, soap and paper towels are ‘always’ available when they need them (compared to 71% in 2009), whilst 60% say they are 'always' available to patients (a decrease from 63% in 2009)
  • 41% have good opportunities to develop in their work (compared with 44% in 2009)
  • 28% said that they will look for a new job in the next 12 months (up from 22% in 2009)
  • 8% reported experiencing physical violence from patients, relatives or other members of the public, while 15% said they have been subject to bullying, harassment and abuse

Find out more about the results of this survey in Key findings:

Feedback reports for NHS trusts

Each trust has received a detailed feedback report of  the findings.

The reports include information on local changes since 2009, a benchmarked analysis of findings and data by occupational and demographic groups.

Download the questionnaires used in this survey

Further information

You can find further information on the NHS staff survey below.