CSP and other leading health and care organisations are urging the government to restore vital investment in mental health and wellbeing services for frontline NHS and social care staff in England.
On the one-year anniversary of funding cuts to NHS mental health and wellbeing hubs, CSP is one of the 17 organisations that have written an open letter to Victoria Atkins, secretary of state for health and social care, warning that staff face a postcode lottery of patchy mental health support, as hubs across England continue to close.
The letter includes the findings from a recent NHS survey which found that many staff have felt the emotional impact of working in stressful conditions with a backlog of patients and have struggled with high levels of stress and burn out. It also includes a cost-saving projection for investing in workplace mental health interventions.
Most of the funding for the 40 NHS staff mental health and wellbeing hubs was cut in March 2023, with just £2.3m provided to hubs in July 2023, a fraction of the original £38.5million annual budget.
Claire Sullivan, CSP’s director of employment relations and union services said: 'We know that our members are currently working under an incredible amount of pressure.
Many are burnt-out, demoralised and have considered leaving the NHS in recent years.
'So, it is both shocking and deeply disappointing that the funding has been cut to these vital mental health and wellbeing services when there is a clear need for them and robust evidence which shows they really help to support NHS staff to improve their wellbeing and continue to work.'
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