Study shows link between hospital staff satisfaction and care quality

Hospitals in England where staff are satisfied with the level of care they provide are more likely to deliver a high standard of services, according to a new study.

A team from Imperial College London has found that satisfaction levels among a hospital's staff are linked closely with its mortality rates and the quality of healthcare it provides, with this correlation applying to non-clinical staff as well as doctors.

According to the researchers, further analysis is needed to determine whether this is a case of happier staff provide better care or better care creating happier staff, though it is suspected that both statements are likely to be true.

The report also suggested that staff satisfaction could be used as an early warning system to help identify serious institutional failings, such as those seen at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Study leader Dr Richard Pinder said: "If you want to choose between two hospitals, knowing that 98 percent of doctors and nurses working there would recommend their hospital, compared with 60 percent elsewhere is a useful thing to know."

This could be a pressing issue given a recent report from the General Medical Council suggesting that some trainee doctors are working nearly 100 hours a week during their busiest shifts, leading to stress and fatigue.