About the Survey
The NHS Staff Survey is one of the largest workforce surveys in the world and has been conducted every year since 2003.
Each year NHS staff are invited to take part in the survey. The survey offers a snapshot in time of how people experience their working lives, gathered at same time each year. Its strength is in capturing a national picture alongside local detail, enabling NHS England and NHS Improvement to explore staff experience across different parts of the NHS and work to bring about the necessary improvements.
The survey results are predominantly aimed at NHS organisations, to inform local improvements in staff experience and well-being.
The results are also used by NHS England and NHS Improvement to support national assessments of quality and safety. The Care Quality Commission uses the results to inform their Intelligent Monitoring work to help to decide who, where and what to inspect.
Development of the survey to ensure alignment with the NHS People Promise is ongoing; work is under way to ensure the survey asks questions relevant to each area of the Promise. See the video below for more information on the Promise.
The NHS Staff Survey is owned by NHS England and NHS Improvement. NHS England and NHS Improvement leads the National Health Service (NHS) in England.
The Staff Survey Coordination Centre at Picker Institute Europe and the survey’s advisory group support NHS England and NHS Improvement with implementation of the survey.
