Hospital ordered to prevent staff stress

A hospital has been ordered to take action to prevent its staff from suffering from stress, NHS chiefs have revealed.

West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust has been issued an improvement notice by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The notice requires the trust to implement a work-related stress policy and conduct a risk assessment at the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, which had not previously been carried out.

The trust has until 15 December to complete the survey of stressors in the workplace and develop policies and plans to deal with them.

We recognize that a busy hospital can be a very stressful environment for staff Elaine Mead, director of service development

A spokeswoman said that the notice does not suggest that staff at the hospital are more stressed than in any other public sector organisation.

She said the trust will work closely with the HSE to develop a survey in conjunction with a local university.

And she explained that the trust's staff already have access to occupational health and counsellor services.

The trust's director of service development Elaine Mead said: "We recognize 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 which lead to work-related stress.

"This is a priority for the government and also for the trust and we are confident that we will be able to comply with this improvement notice.

"We will build on our existing plan to improve working lives which will result in a better working environment for staff."