The NHS needs to invest in employee mental health services if it is serious about tackling the workforce crisis gripping the service, the British Psychological Society (BPS) has warned.
In a new report, the BPS has said that long-term funding for employee mental health and wellbeing services is fundamental to staff retention and the delivery of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
With many integrated care systems struggling to balance their books, there is also a pressing need for proper standards for staff mental health provision, it has said, amid concerns that staff struggling with their mental health could face a postcode lottery to access the support they need to continue in their roles.
The report, Learning from the NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs, outlines eight key principles and related recommendations for future staff mental health and wellbeing provision.
These have been based upon learning gathered from NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs and more widely.
NHS staff wellbeing
Improve NHS staff wellbeing to provide better care, investigation urges
NHS England launches growing occupational health and wellbeing strategy
The hubs were set up in February 2021 to provide health and social care staff with rapid access to mental health support. However, government funding for them ended in March 2023.
The report includes examples of different hub service models and an evaluation of a new four-session consultation model introduced by the Stronger Together hub in Northamptonshire.
It also offers insight into the impact of such services on staff sickness and retention, as well as the cost-benefits of effective workforce mental health support.
The BPS is urging the government to commit to further funding for staff mental health and wellbeing services to complement local long-term investment and support the delivery of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Dr Roman Raczka, BPS president-elect, said: “The need for mental health and wellbeing support for NHS and social care staff didn’t begin with the pandemic, and it hasn’t ended with it. Staff sickness absence for mental health reasons remains worryingly high. We are in a well-documented workforce retention crisis, and patient safety is an ongoing concern.
“The creation of the NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs saw a period of significant investment and innovation in staff mental health and wellbeing services, so it was vital that learning from them was not lost.
“The ambitious measures set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan are not a quick fix. Existing and future staff members deserve to work in an environment that gives them the support they need, to provide the safe, high-quality care they as health and care professionals are proud to give. Put simply, NHS and social care employers cannot afford to ignore the mental health needs of their workforce, if they wish to create a system that’s fit for the future,” Dr Raczka added.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
