Frontline staff frustrated by lack of time

Time constraints could be leading to frontline public sector staff being unable to meet the requirements of people with complex needs, according to government research out today.

The Social Exclusion Unit study found that front staff line were frustrated by the lack of time available to provide services and that this made it harder for them to deliver an adequate service to disadvantaged people.

“We’re on a 15 minute treadmill with every new claimant. We don’t even have the time to cover the bare minimum with them [about their claim],” one Jobcentre Plus employee told researchers.

The study looks at the effectiveness of public services, including health, education and the benefits system, for people with low levels of literacy, disabled people and people from ethnic minorities

It added that people from the three groups had reported a poor level of understanding and ‘attitude’ among some frontline workers towards their situations.

The report concluded that public services needed to do more to help disadvantaged people to improve their lives.

Improving Service, Improving Lives from: www.socialexclusion.gov.uk