Staff support during COVID-19 within an Acute Hospital Trust

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has put immense pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) and all healthcare professionals, not only physically but also mentally and the need to fully develop and implement a strategy to protect the mental health of healthcare professionals has never been more urgent. Research has demonstrated that staff can be supported by strengthening teams and offering frequent well-being support. Aims To assess the feedback from delivery of a strategy to provide psychological well-being support to NHS staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether this ‘Support for Teams’ initiative made a positive impact on staff and in what way. Methods A mixed methods design was used to gain quantitative and qualitative feedback from staff. Feedback was collected from two groups: Well-being Leads and clinicians providing support and resources to Well-being Leads. Feedback was collected via online forms. Results Collectively, feedback responses were received from 70 staff members. The majority of staff members felt supported and benefitted from the provisions provided. Conclusions This evaluation showed that our healthcare system must continue to proactively implement and adapt staff support strategies to protect the mental well-being of healthcare professionals, both in the context of future health crises and in everyday practice. This study will assist and guide development and adaptations to health and psychological well-being support, ahead of future pandemics and to provide suitable support beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.