Survey to gauge best resilience support for NHS and social care

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NHS and social care workers are being encouraged to take part in a national biennial research project that is gauging how they have been affected by the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year, and what more can be done to protect staff resilience and wellbeing. The survey by Skills for Health, the sector skills council for health, has run every two years since 2010 and is normally used to assess the skills and competency needs of both employers and employees across the sector. This year, however, in the wake of the pandemic, it is being used to assess how staff are being supported, and can be better supported in the future, so as to reduce the risk of burnout. The aim of the Developing a Resilient Workforce Survey is to identify critical development shortages at an individual, organisational and systemic level and recommend measures that will not only protect staff from pressures that pre-date the pandemic but address the new challenges they will continue to face post-pandemic. Jon Parry, head of research at Skills for Health, said: “This year's review focuses on improving workforce resilience and wellbeing, particularly in light of the immense trials we have all experienced in the last 12 months and will help sector leaders to better understand the complex skills issues that they will need to address, in order to equip the workforce to meet future challenges.” The review will run until the end of June, with the results expected to be published in the autumn. For every completed response, Skills for Health has pledged to donate 10p to learning disability charity Mencap. The survey can be found here.