1 in 3 NHS staff wouldn’t want their hospital to treat a family member

MORE than one in three NHS staff would not want a relative to be treated by their hospital or ambulance service, a damning report reveals.

Just 62.9 per cent said they would be happy with the quality of care likely to be delivered to a loved one – down from 74.2 per cent in 2000.

This drops to as low as 56.7 per cent among ambulance trust workers, according to the NHS staff survey of 636,348 employees.

The annual survey suggests low morale and growing safety concerns are being fuelled by a widespread shortage of staff and equipment.

only a quarter (26.4 per cent) said they have enough colleagues to allow them to do their job properly and just over half (55.6 per cent) have the materials or equipment needed.

A third (33.5 per cent) have seen errors, near misses or incidents in the last month that could have hurt staff or patients, rising to 40.6 per cent among ambulance crews.

Meanwhile, almost a quarter (23.7 per cent) said they will probably look for a new job in the next 12 months. Separate figures show NHS waiting lists have hit a record high of 7.21million.

The NHS performance figures also show only 54.4 per cent of the 15,401 cancer patients starting treatment in January after an urgent GP referral waited less than the two month target – the lowest since records began in 2009.

Sally Warren, of The King’s Fund think-tank, said: ‘At a time when many people working across NHS are taking the difficult decision to strike over pay, safety and conditions... this survey paints a picture of staff feeling undervalued, under huge pressure and questioning their roles in the NHS.’

At least 511 people died in England last year after an ambulance took up to 15 hours to reach them, a Guardian investigation found – more than double the 2021 figure.