Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to (a) alleviate the work pressures on mental health staff working in the NHS and (b) ensure that such workers receive effective support and care in the event of mental health illness.

Employers are responsible for taking steps to alleviate the work pressures on mental health staff working in the National Health Service and ensuring they receive effective support and care in the event of mental health illness.

The Government recognises the work pressures NHS staff including mental health staff are under and is proposing to do more to support trusts in alleviating these pressures by, for example, offering NHS staff more opportunities for flexible working, quicker access to mental health services as well as tackling bullying and violence against NHS staff. These initiatives are in addition to NHS England’s NHS Healthy Workforce programme which includes incentives for employers to ensure staff have access to better support for their physical and mental health and wellbeing such as mindfulness apps and mental health talking therapies.

The recently published ‘Stepping forward to 2020/21: The mental health workforce plan for England¹ recognises the need to support NHS staff, including those working in mental health. The plan proposes that ‘Thriving at Work²’, the recently published review by Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind and Lord Stevenson, about mental health and employers and should form the basis for Board discussions. This will enable NHS organisations to better support their own staff and increase awareness around mental health issues amongst the workforce. The expectation is that all the recommendations within the mental health workforce plan will be implemented by 2020/21.

The Department continues to commission NHS Employers to support the NHS in improving staff health and wellbeing through advice, guidance and good practice including, for example, their ‘How are you feeling NHS? Toolkit³’ which should help staff check their own emotional wellbeing or speak to and support colleagues with theirs.

Notes:

¹https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/person-centred-care/mental-health/mental-health-workforce-plan

²https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thriving-at-work-a-review-of-mental-health-and-employers

³http://www.nhsemployers.org/howareyoufeelingnhs