The NHS is an essential service that we will all encounter on multiple occasions throughout our lives. It is imperative therefore we look after those who care for us when we are in most need. But we mustn’t forget that you can’t have an NHS that is fit for the future unless you have a well workforce and who are able to focus on delivering for patients. For staff in North Yorkshire and Humberside, this was thrown into doubt in recent years after the sad closure of the Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub, setup in the wake of the pandemic.
NHS 10 Year Plan
It is encouraging therefore that in the government’s long-awaited ten-year plan for the NHS, published this month, there is a commitment to create new Staff Treatment Hubs. These aim to help address the mental health and wellbeing issues that currently persist in the workforce.
This is something the British Psychological Society (BPS) and partner health and care organisations have long campaigned for. Sustainable ringfenced investment in staff support services is much needed, especially considering funding cuts to the NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs which included Yorkshire and Humberside. This was despite evidence they were effective in supporting staff retention and offered a significant return on investment.
Learnings from those hubs laid bare the devastating after-effects of the pandemic and years of underinvestment. Add into the mix the unrelenting nature of winter pressures and seemingly ever-growing waiting lists, it’s hardly surprising mental health and wellbeing issues are a significant cause of long-term sickness absence within the NHS. Well over half a million days are lost annually according to latest data.
But although a promising development, questions remain about what they will look like in reality and indeed whether Yorkshire and Humberside will even be the recipient of a new hub.
Psychologists are essential to the NHS
It is vital psychologists are embedded within them to ensure services are delivered effectively. Funding streams and the timeline of implementation also need to be confirmed as quickly as possible. Action is needed now not later. The NHS cannot afford to wait to support its workforce.
The BPS has carried out research that clearly shows early intervention and access to independent, rapid mental health support significantly improves staff wellbeing, reduces sickness absence, and improves staff retention. These are all key to helping get the NHS workforce into a place where it can deliver on the government’s vision for the next decade.
Existing infrastructure of the existing NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs has been largely dismantled, with just a fraction of the original number setup currently in operation. The fact these new replacement hubs will have to be set up from scratch adds additional work that could have been easily avoided. We hope the remaining NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing hub in West Yorkshire will have continued support. Then there’s the question of whether they will provide services for social care staff, as the original hubs did. This important part of the workforce must not be overlooked.
What is clear however is the workforce will need support – both now and in the future – as it navigates the implementation of the 10 Year Plan. We know with change comes uncertainty for any organisation; but this workforce holds the health of the nation in its hands. Forget them at our peril.
