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NHS staff ‘feel bullied’ into poor care, the 10% A&E staff shortfall and Stoptober campaign rebooted

NHS management is under scrutiny again as a new report claims a quarter of doctors and a third of nurses have been bullied into behaviour they believe is bad for patient care.

The survey, by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developent (CIPD), also found fewer than three out of five NHS staff would be confident to raise concerns about the quality of patient care to senior management, The Guardian reports.

Around 40% said they were worried their organisation could be at the centre of the next patient care scandal.

Peter Cheese, CIPD’s executive, said NHS leaders should put more emphasis on ‘people management and feedback and information from staff’.

Meanwhile another survey conducted by the BBC has revealed the extent of A&E staff shortages in England. Figures from a BBC 5 Live FOI request suggest A&E departments are understaffed on average by nearly 10%, with a total of 1,260 vacant posts available at 101 out of 166 hospital trusts. The findings underscore concerns over a potential crisis this winter as A&E services come under increasing pressure.

Labour was quick to point out again that major A&Es missed waiting time targets for 41 weeks in Jeremy Hunt’s first year as health secretary – and said cuts to council social care services and nursing jobs as well as the 111 debacle were adding to the problem. Health minister Anna Soubry said reasons for the staffing problems were ‘hugely complicated’ – and that the Government would announce tomorrow how a recently announced £500m cash injection would be spent to alleviate the problem.

And as autumn arrives, it’s time for Public Health England to encourage smokers to sign up to the ‘Stoptober challenge’, under the tagline that anyone who quits for the whole of October and does not start again will gain seven days every 28 days for the rest of their life.

It’s not just more time smokers will gain of course - last year the 160,000 people who joined in saved an estimated £25million in cigarettes, The Independent reports.