Recommendation 17

HM Government Acknowledged

4.1 We recognise the impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have over the longer term and are committed to monitoring its effect on the workforce to ensure we respond to any arising needs. 4.2 In the adult social care sector, high absence rates due to people testing positive for COVID-19 and self-isolating during the pandemic have contributed to challenges in workforce capacity, which in turn have impacted on members of the workforce’s wellbeing. 4.3 We continue to provide a national package of emotional, psychological and practical resources to support staff throughout this difficult period. This support includes advice and guidance as well as the Samaritans NHS and social care staff helpline and the Just B/Hospice UK trauma and bereavement helpline, all of which have been available to all carers and care workers throughout the pandemic. 4.4 On 29th December 2021 we announced an additional £60 million for local authorities, to help them support the adult social care response to COVID- 19 in January. The Omicron Support Fund is on top of the £388 million Infection Control and Testing Fund announced earlier in the year to prevent infections and provide testing to the care sector. 4.5 The Department is continuing to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the capacity of the adult social care workforce, including using local intelligence and data from the Capacity Tracker and Skills for Care on absence and vacancy rates and through our Regional Assurance Team. We will continue to work closely with the sector to consider any further actions that may need to be taken to support workforce capacity where appropriate in the future and throughout the recovery period. 4.6 For the NHS workforce, at the outset of the pandemic NHSEI launched a comprehensive, national health and wellbeing package of support, many parts of which were also made available to those working in social care. So far this been accessed over one million times. As part of the evaluation and insights workstream of the health and wellbeing programme, NHSEI has continued to monitor emerging evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on NHS staff, adapting and evolving the wellbeing offer as changing needs were identified. 4.7 NHSEI have regularly surveyed staff through the People Pulse survey, initiated in June 2020. Over 120 providers are registered, and the survey has received over 50,000 responses from NHS staff over 14 waves, with 30-40 NHS Trusts typically participating in each wave. The results show that staff felt much more anxious during the peaks of the pandemic, especially during the second wave in winter 2020. Feedback from staff surrounding the impact of the pandemic on their health and wellbeing has also been received through themes arising from NHS staff on calls to the Samaritans NHS and social care staff helpline. 4.8 Key secondary stressors were then able to be identified and as a result, additional support was put in place to help staff with parental and childcare responsibilities and financial support. Awareness of the particular impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minority groups and feedback received through the People Pulse also led to an enhanced and tailored support offer for this group of staff. 4.9 We know that the consequences of the pandemic on staff may be long lasting and as we emerge from the pandemic, NHSEI is continuing to gather insights and data on staff health and wellbeing to monitor the impact that COVID-19 has had over the longer term. The People Pulse survey is being updated and will continue alongside a quarterly staff survey focused on staff engagement. This will be considered alongside insights from partnerships with academia and consultation with expert advisory groups. 4.10 Health Education England (HEE) has also surveyed students and trainees throughout the pandemic and the most recent National Education and Training Survey provides an opportunity for students and trainees to share their experiences, what is working well, and what could be improved. The survey monitors the education and training of all NHS learners that respond, including aspects of their wellbeing. The feedback from the survey enables HEE to continually make improvements to all clinical learning environments for students and trainees. 4.11 HEE are also focused on supporting the wellbeing of students and trainees and have put in place a range of wellbeing initiatives including the MindEd Coronavirus Staff Resilience Hub which remains available to all in health and social care. This provides support for frontline staff working through the Covid-19 pandemic to help manage their mental health and wellbeing. It has been created in partnership with NHSEI and is supported by Skills for Care. 4.12 HEE continues to deliver the recommendations of the NHS Staff and Learner’s Mental Wellbeing Commission report, published in 2019. This Commission set out to discover and review evidence of good practice, where the mental health and wellbeing of staff and learners in NHS organis