Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Staff in health and social care cannot be expected to be ready to cope with...
Conclusion
Staff in health and social care cannot be expected to be ready to cope with future peaks and also deal with the enormous backlogs that have built up unless they are managed well. We are deeply concerned about the frontline workers and volunteers who have endured the strain and trauma of responding to COVID-19 for many months. Failure to protect staff by providing adequate PPE has impacted staff morale and confidence, while a lack of timely testing, until after the pandemic had passed its first peak, led to increased stress and absence. These same staff will be called upon in the event of a second peak and the NHS will need extra staff to deal with the backlog of treatment. While the NHS says it is providing much needed support to staff, details are limited, and we remain concerned about the Department’s ability and capacity to safeguard the mental health and well-being of the thousands of health and social care staff and volunteers from the lasting effects of the pandemic. Recommendation: The Department and NHSE&I should identify and agree with relevant professional bodies specific actions to support health and social care staff to recover from the impact of the first peak and how they will monitor and provide further support to staff through to the end of the pandemic.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation Implemented 5.2 The department has published wellbeing guidance for all those working in adult social care, providing key advice and resources on maintaining mental wellbeing and how employers can take care of the wellbeing of their staff during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. 5.3 Our Frontline, a collaboration between Samaritans, Shout, Hospice UK and Mind, provides information, emotional support and access to a crisis text service for those working on the frontline, including in social care. 5.4 The NHS People Plan for 2020- 21: action for us all was published on 30 July 2020. The People Plan sets out action that NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and NHS employers will take over the coming months to ensure that NHS staff receive the support they need. The focus of this iteration of the People Plan has been on helping NHS people recover from the impact of the first peak of the pandemic and was developed in partnership with relevant professional and representative bodies. 5.5 The People Plan builds on the health and wellbeing support programme launched during the first phase of the COVID-19 response, which was accessed by over 300,000 health and care staff. The NHS COVID-19 support programme reflects that the fact that health and care staff may need support over the short, medium and long term. The offer NHS England and NHS Improvement launched includes resources for individuals, line managers and teams that includes 1:1 and group support; health and wellbeing Apps and guides; and access to two national helplines provided by The Samaritans and Hospice UK.