STAFF at Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust are suffering from stress, bullying and harassment from patients according to a new survey.

The trust which runs the flagship Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH), Farnborough, scored badly in 17 out of 26 categories in an extensive survey carried out last year by the Healthcare Commission to gauge the feelings of doctors, nurses, managers and other members of staff.

It found that almost a third of respondents had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients and more than one in five said they had suffered the same from colleagues or managers in the previous 12 months.

The report said: “Staff were asked questions about the extent to which they think their trust takes effective action if staff are physically attacked or bullied, harassed or abused. The trust’s score was in the lowest 20 per cent of acute trusts in England.”

There had been a significant decrease in job satisfaction since 2006 and work pressure was among the highest 20 per cent of acute trusts in England, the report said.

Staff intention to leave jobs was also among the highest 20 per cent.

The trust was recently part of a public consultation to reconfigure hospital services across south east London.

If approved, the PRUH would expand its A&E and maternity services, while neighbouring Queen Mary’s Sidcup would concentrate on planned surgeries and outpatients only.

The trust scored above average in four categories: health and safety training, physical violence from patients or staff and reporting of errors.

The response rate was only 43 per cent.