08 August 2003
A three-star NHS trust said this week it was confident it would reduce pressure on staff after becoming the first employer to be given a health and safety improvement notice over work-related stress.
The Health and Safety Executive handed the notice to West Dorset Hospitals Trust as it did not have a work-related stress policy, nor had it conducted a risk assessment of factors that could cause stress.
The trust's management now has until December 15 to carry out the survey and develop policies and plans to deal with stress factors, or face fines or even prison.
Staff had complained of overwork, inadequate staffing and lack of support and understanding from managers.
The trust insisted the improvement notice was 'about systems of work', and did not suggest that its staff were under more pressure than those in any other public sector organisation.
Elaine Mead, trust director of service development, said: 'We recognise that a busy hospital can be a very stressful environment for staff in some areas, and we are committed to doing everything that we can to reduce factors that lead to work-related stress. This is a priority for the government, and also for this trust, and we are confident that we will be able to comply with this improvement notice.'
Trust staff already had access to occupational health and counsellor services and the trust would use management standards developed by the HSE to tackle work-related stress further, she said.
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