- Conference
- 2010 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 10 December 2009
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the findings of the Boorman Review including:
·The large number of staff that continue to attend work while feeling unwell;
·The connection between staff health & wellbeing and standards of care;
·The connections between staff health & wellbeing and the public health agenda;
·The importance of investing in high quality occupational health services;
·That investment in staff health & well being is affordable;
·That the Care Quality Commission and Monitor should include as a priority targets and measurements on staff health & wellbeing.
However it also notes the large numbers of staff, as demonstrated by the NHS Staff Survey; that continue to report high levels of
·Bullying and harassment
·Violent assaults by patients on staff,
·Manual handling injuries
·Staff feeling unwell as a result of work related stress.
Conference congratulates UNISON for its work (working in partnership with our fellow trade unions, NHS Employers and the HSE) in tackling the underlying causes of ill health. It particular notes:
– The European Framework Agreement on needlesticks & sharps;
– The NHS lone worker project designed to protect NHS staff working in isolation from violent assaults.
Conference notes some of the initiatives in the three other countries of the United Kingdom, such as Dignity at Work (Scotland) and the Welsh Manual Handling Passport Scheme.
Conference congratulates UNISON Health & Safety Unit’s excellent work in campaigning against bullying in the workplace.
Conference believes the Boorman Review has given UNISON the opportunity to ensure the NHS sees improving the health, safety and wellbeing of staff as an essential precondition to improving the quality of care it can give to patients. So often when governments are looking for cuts in the NHS, the health & safety of staff suffers. However as Boorman has demonstrated such cuts are a false economy, as the inevitable consequence is an unhealthy workforce and more time lost through sickness absence.
Conference also believes that health & safety should be a key part of UNISON’s recruitment & organising strategy in health, as members can see a healthy working environment as clear, visible and tangible result of campaigning as a member of a trade union.
Conference therefore calls on the Health Group Executive to work in partnership with UNISON’s Health & Safety Unit, our fellow trade unionists, NHS Employers, HSE, NHS Litigation Authority and the Care Quality Commission to:
i. tackle the underlying causes of ill health in the NHS Workforce;
ii. ensure the implementation of the key findings of the Boorman report focussing in particular on investment in staff health & wellbeing, and the link between this and standards of care;
iii. ensure the full implementation of the European Framework Agreement on needlesticks & sharps;
iv. assist branches in using health & safety as a recruitment tool by communicating the work it is doing through its web site, leaflets and other media.