NEWS
SENIOR STAFF TOLD HOW THEIR ACTIONS CONTRIBUTE TO EMPLOYEE STRESS Employers have been urged to better support nurses and other staff to cut the £400 million annual bill for stress-related sickness in the NHS. For the past two years, more than a third of health service workers have told the NHS staff survey that they have felt stressed in the previous 12 months. NHS Employers estimates that more than 30 per cent of all sick leave is due to work-related stress. Health unions and employers belonging to its health, safety and wellbeing partnership group have drawn up guidance for board-level managers and senior HR personnel on prevention and management of stress at work. It warns that the actions and behaviour of managers can affect staff stress levels and burnout rates. The document examines the causes of stress, such as increasing demand on services, workplace changes and having to deal with violent, unpredictable and traumatic events. It also explains how to recognise when staff are stressed.
Employees may exhibit withdrawn, irritable or aggressive behaviour, appear tired or unmotivated, and show changes in body weight. RCN senior employment relations adviser Kim Sunley helped draft the guidance in her role as union chair of the partnership group. She said: ‘Health workers are facing the immense challenge of delivering care at a time of growing demand and scant resources.’
Pinpointing stressors
The guidance states organisations should have a health and wellbeing policy in place, and that sickness absence data should be analysed to identify any underlying issues, such as whether certain groups of staff are under more stress. It states managers should show they value staff by being open and honest on decision making. They should also hold regular feedback sessions. To read the guidance, go to tinyurl.com/l4zcnko
ANIM BECOMES RCN’S FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT
The RCN has appointed its first black president. Cecilia Anim, who is deputy to Andrea Spyropoulos, will replace her on January 1. Rod Thomson, who was RCN congress chair between 2006 and 2014, has been appointed as Ms Anim’s deputy. Both will serve for two years. Ms Anim is a sexual health nurse with particular expertise in the menopause. She works in north London, and has been active in the RCN for more than 30 years as a steward, council member and latterly deputy president. ‘Nursing is going through tough times,’ she said. ‘I am determined to be a vocal campaigner on behalf of RCN members and work to secure a better future for nursing staff and their patients.’ Professor Thomson is a director of public health for Shropshire and long-standing RCN activist. ‘I look forward to campaigning with members on behalf of nursing and high-quality patient care and public health,’ he said.
CAMHS has ‘serious and deeply ingrained problems’ Funding to boost the number of school nurses trained to recognise and identify early signs of mental illness in children is needed urgently, MPs have said. In a highly critical report on the state of Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the Commons health committee warns there are ‘serious and deeply ingrained problems’ throughout the whole system. Early intervention services have become an easy target for cuts during the recession, say MPs. This has resulted in greater demand for inpatient care as mental illness among children, which is being ignored, becomes more serious. Health committee chair Sarah Wollaston said it was ‘unacceptable’ that just 6 per cent of funding for mental health was allocated to CAMHS, given that half of all mental health problems start before the age of 14.
‘The key emphasis in this report is that it makes huge sense to invest in early intervention to prevent serious problems in later life,’ Dr Wollaston told Nursing Standard. ‘Our message to the government is clear. There needs to be more investment
‘IT MAKES SENSE TO INVEST IN EARLY INTERVENTION’ – Sarah Wollaston
in school nursing and early intervention to prevent these problems escalating.’ The report highlights the vital role schools play in identifying early signs of mental health problems, and the need for better training for school nurses, who are ‘very thinly spread’. Schools should act as a ‘hub’ for wider community-based
provision, as well as providing support themselves, adds the report. Young people, who gave evidence to the inquiry, described ‘battles’ in accessing CAMHS and the devastating impact of long waits for treatment. Services are under such pressure in some parts of the country that it has been reported that CAMHS would not see any young person unless they had attempted suicide, the committee was told. The government announced last month that it has set up an expert panel to advise ministers on how mental health services for young people can be improved. Former chair of the RCN children and young people’s mental health forum, Dr Wollaston has called on the Department of Health and NHS England’s joint taskforce to address the issue urgently.
8 november 12 from :: vol RCNi.com 29 no 11 ::by2014 STANDARD Downloaded ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 19, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
SENIOR STAFF TOLD HOW THEIR ACTIONS CONTRIBUTE TO EMPLOYEE STRESS Employers have been urged to better support nurses and other staff to cut the £400 million annual bill for stress-related sickness in the NHS. For the past two years, more than a third of health service workers have told the NHS staff survey that they have felt stressed in the previous 12 months. NHS Employers estimates that more than 30 per cent of all sick leave is due to work-related stress. Health unions and employers belonging to its health, safety and wellbeing partnership group have drawn up guidance for board-level managers and senior HR personnel on prevention and management of stress at work. It warns that the actions and behaviour of managers can affect staff stress levels and burnout rates. The document examines the causes of stress, such as increasing demand on services, workplace changes and having to deal with violent, unpredictable and traumatic events. It also explains how to recognise when staff are stressed.
Employees may exhibit withdrawn, irritable or aggressive behaviour, appear tired or unmotivated, and show changes in body weight. RCN senior employment relations adviser Kim Sunley helped draft the guidance in her role as union chair of the partnership group. She said: ‘Health workers are facing the immense challenge of delivering care at a time of growing demand and scant resources.’
Pinpointing stressors
The guidance states organisations should have a health and wellbeing policy in place, and that sickness absence data should be analysed to identify any underlying issues, such as whether certain groups of staff are under more stress. It states managers should show they value staff by being open and honest on decision making. They should also hold regular feedback sessions. To read the guidance, go to tinyurl.com/l4zcnko
ANIM BECOMES RCN’S FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT
The RCN has appointed its first black president. Cecilia Anim, who is deputy to Andrea Spyropoulos, will replace her on January 1. Rod Thomson, who was RCN congress chair between 2006 and 2014, has been appointed as Ms Anim’s deputy. Both will serve for two years. Ms Anim is a sexual health nurse with particular expertise in the menopause. She works in north London, and has been active in the RCN for more than 30 years as a steward, council member and latterly deputy president. ‘Nursing is going through tough times,’ she said. ‘I am determined to be a vocal campaigner on behalf of RCN members and work to secure a better future for nursing staff and their patients.’ Professor Thomson is a director of public health for Shropshire and long-standing RCN activist. ‘I look forward to campaigning with members on behalf of nursing and high-quality patient care and public health,’ he said.
CAMHS has ‘serious and deeply ingrained problems’ Funding to boost the number of school nurses trained to recognise and identify early signs of mental illness in children is needed urgently, MPs have said. In a highly critical report on the state of Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the Commons health committee warns there are ‘serious and deeply ingrained problems’ throughout the whole system. Early intervention services have become an easy target for cuts during the recession, say MPs. This has resulted in greater demand for inpatient care as mental illness among children, which is being ignored, becomes more serious. Health committee chair Sarah Wollaston said it was ‘unacceptable’ that just 6 per cent of funding for mental health was allocated to CAMHS, given that half of all mental health problems start before the age of 14.
‘The key emphasis in this report is that it makes huge sense to invest in early intervention to prevent serious problems in later life,’ Dr Wollaston told Nursing Standard. ‘Our message to the government is clear. There needs to be more investment
‘IT MAKES SENSE TO INVEST IN EARLY INTERVENTION’ – Sarah Wollaston
in school nursing and early intervention to prevent these problems escalating.’ The report highlights the vital role schools play in identifying early signs of mental health problems, and the need for better training for school nurses, who are ‘very thinly spread’. Schools should act as a ‘hub’ for wider community-based
provision, as well as providing support themselves, adds the report. Young people, who gave evidence to the inquiry, described ‘battles’ in accessing CAMHS and the devastating impact of long waits for treatment. Services are under such pressure in some parts of the country that it has been reported that CAMHS would not see any young person unless they had attempted suicide, the committee was told. The government announced last month that it has set up an expert panel to advise ministers on how mental health services for young people can be improved. Former chair of the RCN children and young people’s mental health forum, Dr Wollaston has called on the Department of Health and NHS England’s joint taskforce to address the issue urgently.
8 november 12 from :: vol RCNi.com 29 no 11 ::by2014 STANDARD Downloaded ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 19, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
