A third of health staff in Swindon and Marlborough often consider leaving their jobs, according to a new NHS survey.

Nearly a quarter will probably look for a new job in the next year, while one in seven are actually on the brink of quitting, says the survey.

The questionnaire was launched in October last year as part of the first national NHS staff survey to help improve patient care and the working lives of employees.

A random selection of staff in every NHS trust in England was asked to complete the questionnaire consisting of 10 core questions.

Areas analysed included training, learning and development, team working, health and safety, errors, violent incidents and bullying.

The latter found that one in nine have experienced physical violence from patients, while a quarter have been on the receiving end of harassment, bullying or abuse in the last 12 months.

A quarter of staff say their good work is not recognised.

A similar number of people feel they do not get enough feedback, making it difficult to gauge whether or not they are doing a good job.

However,staff training came out positively, with almost 80 per cent of those questioned having received at least a day's training through the trust.

Nearly all reported these days to be beneficial.

Views of the working environment were generally positive, although rest and recreation, food and catering facilities and staff numbers were highlighted as being poor.

Three-quarters of employees say they work more hours than their contract states to provide the best care for patients and to ensure they do not let down colleagues.

A spokeswoman for the union Unison said the finding reflected the current national trend.

"There is still a problem in recruiting health staff which needs to be looked at," she said.

"It is worrying that a third of staff think about leaving in Swindon and Marlborough and that a quarter probably will do so in the next year.

"What we need in the health service is stability and this will not be helped with more people leaving.

"Staff from cleaners to nurses and kitchen porters feel dignity in working for the NHS but they still say they want better pay and conditions."

Alex Emery