STAFFING ISSUES IN THE NHS

  I understand from a recent article in the Nursing Times that your Committee is investigating staffing issues in the NHS, such as recruitment and retention. You may therefore be interested in the enclosed report on NHS staff turnover.*

  One of the surprising results of the survey is that contrary to public perception problems in the NHS, turnover is generally quite low compared to most other industrial sectors (p13). This would of course, bring into question the cost effectiveness of attempts to improve retention.

  For your information we are an NHS organisation, established to carry out research and provide information on human resource issues in the NHS. The Report is part of an ongoing programme looking at staff turnover in the NHS and how it varies between staff groups and employers. Other projects we are working on include:

—  An analysis of sickness absence, such as how this varies by staff group and organisation, what the causes are and what can be done about reducing it.

—  Comparisons of terms and conditions between the NHS and private sector healthcare organisations.

—  The cost of human resources function in the NHS.

August 1998

*not printed.