A more up-to-date alternative to relying on staff survey scores (HSJ, 20 October 2026)

Summary

In this HSJ article, Dr Aaliya Goyal argues that the NHS’s new staff standards are hampered by their reliance on annual NHS Staff Survey results, which provide delayed and retrospective insights into workforce problems. Instead, she advocates using real-time, anonymised occupational health (OH) data as an early-warning system for issues such as bullying, discrimination, racism, sexual harassment, burnout and poor management, arguing that these problems often surface in OH consultations long before they appear in surveys, grievances or formal reports.