Stress code urged

Public services union UNISON has called on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to issue a legally binding code on stress. This follows a report showing that the stressful nature of the work of nurses causes ill health comparable to the effects of smoking or not taking exercise.

The study of over 20,000 nurses in the United States, published in the British Medical Journal, concluded that women in jobs with high demands and low control over their work suffered most ill effects. The effects were found to be equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes a day, and both physical and mental health had suffered.

UNISON head of health and safety Hugh Robertson said: "Stress is preventable and the NHS needs to look carefully at what measures need to be introduced to protect the health of its staff.'

UNISON's evidence to the pay review body for nurses and midwives showed that 89% of all nursing staff, and 93% of enrolled nurses, believed that stress had increased over the past 12 months.