Responding to the findings of the annual NHS staff survey, the chief executive of NHS Providers Sir Julian Hartley said:

"The past year has been hugely challenging for NHS staff and unsurprisingly, this is laid bare in the results of the staff survey.

"Staff satisfaction with pay is at an all-time low and has been compounded by worries over the soaring cost of living. These frustrations have understandably spilled over with widespread industrial action by several staff groups across the health service in recent months.

"Trust leaders will also be concerned that nearly half of staff do not feel they have a good work life balance, with more people thinking about leaving their organisation and burnout remaining persistently high.

"Given severe staff shortages and over 124,000 vacancies across the NHS in England alone, it comes as no surprise that more staff are reporting unhappiness with the standard of care provided by their organisation and concerns over the impact this is having on patient safety.

"The stubborn lack of progress on equality, diversity and inclusion across the health service is similarly frustrating.

"But there are some grounds for optimism.

"Health service leaders will welcome findings that more staff are reporting compassionate leadership and being able to work as part of a team. The increase in the number of staff who said their immediate manager takes a positive interest in their health and well-being is similarly welcome.

"Leaders across the health service know they've got a mountain to climb to restore morale and staff satisfaction across their frontline teams. They are ready for the challenge, but they cannot do it alone.

"In the short-term, we need the government to set out a fully costed and funded long-term workforce plan, which sets out how many staff will be needed to keep pace with demand. And we need constructive talks between the government and all unions about pay if we are to avert further strike action."