A new £16m NHS workforce wellbeing programme has been launched in England and will feature initiatives that have been developed by staff.
The NHS workforce wellbeing programme will run for three years and includes initiatives that have been co-designed and led by NHS staff.
NHS Charities Together, which represents around 200 charities in the health service, has provided an initial £6m of funding for the programme and expects to offer a further £5m in future. NHS England will contribute the remaining £5m as part of its long term workforce plan commitment to support staff wellbeing.
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The initiatives on offer will be tailored to the needs of each NHS organisation.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “As part of our NHS long term workforce plan every local employer should have a comprehensive offer for their staff to help them stay well and stay within the health service, but this new programme will support those small, extra improvements which staff tell us will make a big difference to their working lives.”
Ellie Orton, CEO of NHS Charities Together, said: “NHS staff work under immense pressure with unprecedented staff shortages and vacancies and the extra help we provide to support their wellbeing and mental health is now more important than ever. The NHS needs to be able to attract and retain the caring workforce to look after the ageing population and meet the growing needs of the public, who face more complex and long-term conditions than ever before.
“There’s a lot of work going on across Trusts to support the wellbeing and mental health of NHS staff but more needs to be done. We’re delighted that NHS England has matched our £5m investment in support across England, and we are also putting proportionate investment across the devolved nations. We have ambitions for this programme to grow so that we can make sure we continue to deliver this important and much-needed support for as long as it’s needed.”
Examples of where previous rounds of funding have had an impact on staff wellbeing include the expansion and renovation of faith facilities at Royal Bolton Hospital in recognition of the role spiritual wellbeing plays in staff experience; and the opening of Oasis health and wellbeing centre and garden at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, which offers a range of facilities including a free gym, health checks and counselling services.
Don Fairley, chief people officer at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: “One member of staff was able to access invaluable help and understanding and face-to-face counselling which prevented them from self-harming and potentially going on to take their own life.
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“We’ve seen a 40% increase in positive responses to staff surveys regarding our support for health and wellbeing since the campus opened, with RBFT now proudly one of the top-performing acute NHS Trusts in this area. With over 3,400 staff accessing the centre and garden over 36,000 times in 2023 alone, its role in boosting staff wellbeing, and consequently enhancing patient care, is clear.”
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