Patient care 'not top priority'

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One in four (25%) do not believe their trust sees it as most important, while a further 29% neither agree or disagree. The poll also revealed that only 26% of NHS staff think their employers value their work. And just one in five (22%) think there is effective communication between staff and senior managers, while only 23% feel staff are involved in important decisions.

The poll also found wide variations between hospitals on measures to fight infections such as Clostridium difficile (C diff) and MRSA.

There have been some improvements, with 82% of NHS staff saying their trust does enough to promote handwashing with hot water, soap or alcohol rubs, up from 70% in 2005. However, only 61% said handwashing equipment was always available when they needed it. A further 30% said it was available most of the time.

Across acute trusts, the number of staff who said handwashing equipment was always available varied from 39% at Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in east London to 82% at the Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in East Grinstead.

Only 32% of staff at Homerton said handwashing equipment was always available for patients to use.

The survey of 155,922 NHS staff did reveal some positive results, with many feeling supported by colleagues and 71% saying their immediate line manager encouraged team working and was supportive in a personal crisis.

Almost three quarters (73%) were also able to take advantage of flexible working in their NHS trust, more staff were receiving appraisals and fewer were working overtime. The numbers seeing errors in patient care or near misses also fell to 31% in 2007 from 40% in 2005.

The number of staff reporting an error, or having it reported by a colleague, also rose to 94% from 92% in 2005. However, 40% of those who had witnessed an error said poor staffing levels were to blame.

The Healthcare Commission published the results from the annual poll - one of the largest staff surveys in the world.