They are the life-blood of the NHS who work long hours and unsocial times of the day to deliver the best possible care.
Hospital, mental health, ambulance service, and community health bosses yesterday pledged to learn from the results of the 2013 national NHS staff survey, which show how much workers value the organisation they work for.
The annual survey has been running for the last ten years and serves as an important barometer for the health of an NHS trust. But do NHS managers and boards listen and take action to address issues highlighted within the staff surveys?
More than 2,500 NHS staff across East Anglia took part in the survey, which asked 28 questions on subjects such as work-related stress, job satisfaction, levels of harassment and physical abuse and whether they would recommend their organisation as a place to work or receive treatment.
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Officials from NHS England said the annual survey was recognised as an important way of ensuring that the views of staff working in the NHS inform local improvements.
The results of the 2013 survey show:
• The most satisfied staff working in the NHS in Norfolk are those that work at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston whilst job satisfaction at the East of England Ambulance Service is the lowest.
• The percentage of staff working extra hours and reporting work-related stress was highest amongst those that worked at the East of England Ambulance Service.
• Almost a third of staff at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and half of the ambulance staff that responded said they experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, relatives or the public, which was above the national average.
• Job staff satisfaction levels at the James Paget University Hospital, West Suffolk Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital were above the national average for acute hospitals. However, the N&N was slightly below the average.
• Almost 50pc of ambulance staff said they had witnessed potentially harmful errors, near misses or incidents whilst that figure at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was 42pc.
The national poll, of 203,000 staff, found improvements in 21 out of the 28 categories when compared to the previous year.
Sue Covill, director of employment services for the NHS Employers organisation, said employers would be encouraged by improvements across the board.
She said: 'Employers know that building staff engagement and pride in the organisation helps deliver high-quality, compassionate care.
'Staff feeling valued and being valued is absolutely vital to the effective delivery of patient care and we believe it is an important factor behind many of the positive results.
'However, some tough issues remain and employers will be working with their staff to review their local survey results and to focus on further improvements. In particular, abuse and harassment of staff from patients and the public is a concern and more needs to be done to protect staff.'
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