The staff survey in the UK's largest employer shows improvements in job satisfaction with fewer staff intending to leave the NHS - 31% compared with 36% last year. Nine out of 10 staff believe their job makes a difference and just under two thirds (64%) are willing to contribute to improvements in the workplace.
But 12% of staff reported violence from patients - showing no improvement from last year.
Clare Chapman, director of NHS Workforce, said: "The ambition for the workforce is they have what is needed to deliver high-quality care. These results are the best ever and the substantial improvements in staff satisfaction reported this year gives us confidence this ambition is achievable. We need to build on this success by involving staff immediately in taking action in response to this survey."
Health minister Ann Keen added: "Areas of concern remain which include unacceptable acts of violence to staff. The fact there is a number of people who think it is acceptable to abuse or physically assault staff who are there to care for them is simply disgraceful.
"NHS organisations need to listen and respond to what their staff are telling them through their individual survey results with clear action plans to tackle the issues raised."
Job satisfaction and employee engagement among NHS staff increase
A survey among NHS staff shows improvements in employee engagement, staff development and appraisals - but violence from patients towards employees remains a problem.
