At a recent meeting of HEFMA’s West Midlands Branch, Professor Richard Williams OBE, Emeritus Professor of Mental Health Strategy at the University of South Wales, gave a presentation about strategies for ensuring the wellbeing of staff as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Professor discussed how to bring back the cohesion that was so evident in NHS teams during the first wave of the pandemic, but which, for various reasons has been less evident during the second wave. People derive support from being part of a team, so teasing teams apart, for example, people being redeployed in different areas as a result of staffing levels - leaves a gap in those important enriching social interactions that cannot be filled automatically by social media.
Professor Williams forward-winds discussion about the wellbeing of staff to the approaches necessary as the second wave recedes, case numbers start to settle down and the needs of all NHS staff who will, by then, have undergone a gruelling 12 months or more with little respite. Rest, he says, is going to be top of the list. But it will also be necessary to plan for how voluntary staff and those who have returned to the service to help it cope with demand are stood down and how training is resumed for staff who have been moved into roles through necessity that they may not be ready for. This will need to be done against a background of a growing waiting list for routine and elective surgery that the NHS will be under pressure to address. “We need to think about how we generate teams and how we avoid recovery colliding and catching up with the work that hasn’t been done.”
He goes on to discuss approaches that all organisations can take to support staff and then goes further with recommendations to ensure the people who are not coping are offered the support they need, which will reduce the risk of them developing a mental health diagnosis.
Any plan requires board level support and a wellbeing agenda that is about developing the workforce and the workplace, including support and active listening. “We’re trying to bring back the cohesion that was so evident in the first wave and try to resuscitate it,” he says in conclusion.
The full presentation is available to view here for logged-in members.
