Published: 24 August 2009
First Audit on the Health of NHS Staff
The first audit on the health of NHS staff should not be used by right wing politicians to push their privatisation agenda for the NHS, Unite, the largest union in the country, has said.
Unite is concerned that the national audit, commissioned by the government, could be used by politicians, such as Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, to undermine the health service and promote the interests of private companies wanting to take a lucrative slice of NHS work.
The survey claimed that NHS workers had high rates of sickness, obesity, smoking and poor mental health.
But Unite said that the 1.4 million people, employed by the health service, were a reflection of society as a whole – and the ministers had already recognised that such problems as smoking were national issues, hence the introduction of the smoking ban in public places in 2007.
Unite National Officer for Health, David Fleming said:
“We are concerned that the issues raised in the audit will be manipulated by right-wing politicians and media commentators to further knock the NHS in a bid to pave the way for private companies to take over more health services.
The NHS, as one of the largest employers in the world, reflects the health trends in society generally – added to which NHS professionals have very stressful jobs, often dealing with life-and-death situations.
The public have consistently said how much they value the NHS and I think they are sickened by the current spate of Obama-baiting over his proposals for healthcare reform in America.
If private companies, many from North America, with their profit-driven targets, take over even more of the NHS, who is to say that this ‘shareholder-first’ culture won’t cause even more stress for employees and absence from work?”
David Fleming welcomed the audit’s recommendation that NHS trusts appoint health and well-being leaders to promote health amongst NHS staff.
Further information
Unite - Health Sector
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