Recommendation 26

The Royal College of Nursing noted that, to retain nurses who worked during the pandemic, it will be essential to provide access to specialised mental health support, carry out risk assessments for staff and ensure people are able to take rest breaks and annual leave.66 NHSE&I told us that it has made a free mental health helpline available to all NHS and social care staff and is providing practical support, such as free tea and coffee.67 It highlighted that flexible working and better local leadership and line management are also key to retaining staff in the longer term. However, it recognised that there is currently variability in the quality of leadership and so it is expanding the number of places on its leadership academy and providing access to line management training for every line manager in the NHS. It said that it would be looking to retain some of the innovations that have helped improve the work-life-balance of staff during the COVID-19 outbreak, such as better use of technology and more flexible or remote working.68 The first part of the People Plan, published in July, covers improvements to staff support and leadership culture, as well as highlighting service innovations that have taken place over the last few months.69