HUNDREDS of staff at the NHS trust which runs The Royal Oldham Hospital would not feel happy if a loved one needed to be treated by the organisation.

The shock finding was laid bare in the latest NHS Staff Survey, which has polled health workers across England, including those that work at the Oldham hospital.

Other worrying revelations included only around one in five (21 per cent) believed there were enough staff to do their job properly, and half had felt unwell because of work-related stress in the last 12 months.

The annual look at staff feelings was carried out between September and November at Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust, which ran Royal Oldham until it was merged into Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust in October.

It found 58 per cent of staff who responded to the 2021 survey said that if a friend or relative needed treatment, they would be happy with the standard of care provided by their organisation.

This was down from 63 per cent the year before, according to the report, which included responses from 3,493 staff at the trust.

It was lower than across England as a whole, where 68 per cent of staff said they would feel happy with the standard of care provided – down from 74 per cent in 2020.

Of the survey respondents at the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust, just 21 per cent said there were enough staff at their organisation for them to do their job properly – a considerable drop from 33 per cent in 2020.

Some 50 per cent of staff had felt unwell because of work-related stress in the previous 12 months, while 39 per cent often or always felt burnt out because of their job.

And roughly 61 per cent said they feel enthusiastic about their job, compared to 70 per cent a year earlier.

Patricia Marquis, Royal College of Nursing director for England, said the national figures will "do nothing to reassure the public" and served as a “stark reminder” of the impact of tens of thousands of nursing vacancies.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents trusts, said the overall picture is unsurprising due to the "unprecedented pressure" placed on NHS staff throughout the pandemic but called the fall in staff morale a “real cause for concern”.

The 2021 survey also reveals that just 33 per cent of NHS workers across England are satisfied with their level of pay – it was 30 per cent at the Pennine Hospitals Trust.

In response to the national figures, Em Wilkinson-Brice, acting chief people officer for the NHS in England, said: “The NHS is nothing without the commitment and dedication of its staff.

"That has never been clearer than over the last two years as they have cared for over 660,000 Covid patients and rolled out the world-leading NHS Covid vaccination programme, all while dealing with record levels of pressure in other parts of the health service.

“We know the last two years will have had a knock-on effect, which is why we have maintained our focus on health and wellbeing as set out in our People Plan, including a 24/7 text support line, greater options of flexible working and rapid access to mental health services when needed.”

Nicky Clarke, NCA Chief of People, said: “The results from the latest NHS staff survey reflect the pressure the NHS has been under during the pandemic.

“We know our colleagues have found the past two years incredibly stressful and the unavoidable increased absences due to COVID has meant all of our services have been very stretched.

“While we are disappointed with the survey results, we are working with our leaders and colleagues across the organisation to ensure we can make the necessary improvements.

“Our S.C.A.R.F colleague support and development programme will play a huge part in this but we know we have more to do to make the NCA a great place to work for everyone.”