Workforce Health and Wellbeing

Workforce Health and Wellbeing

Action now and hope for the future

On Tuesday 15th February 2022, Martin Green: Care England’s Chief Exec, joined Alessandro Alagna: Director of Talent for Care for our webinar to discuss using the pandemic experience as a springboard for transforming the health and wellbeing of our health and care workforce.

Joining them on the panel were professor Nicola Ranger: Chief Nurse and Executive Director, Midwifery King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Professor Deborah Sturdy: Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, Dept. Health and Social Care.

The conversation began with a statement of intent from Alessandro: the conversation would be about actions: “actions to provide immediate care and support for the health and care workforce; workforce integration; recognition and funding.”

A brief statement about current workforce wellbeing from each panellist painted a clear picture of similar levels of exhaustion, physical and emotional at the frontline. The levels of trauma, stress, and grief people have experienced are unprecedented and yet they have worked on, their struggles and challenges unrecognised or unsupported. Compare this with the levels of support our armed forces, for example, receive on return from a combat zone: mental health interventions, access to counselling, time for recovery and recuperation. Their experiences may be different, but the personal and emotional costs are the same. We need a sustainable and coherent response to the massive human impact. People have worked over and above the call of duty, and the care of patients is still their paramount concern, but now they are desperate for optimism and hope of change for the future.

For the remaining hour, the conversation explored potential for immediate action, often prompted by questions from the lively and always relevant chat. To hear all the proposed actions, you will find a link to the recording below. Listen out for innovative training and support programs; equality of funding, recognition, and reward; collaborative working; measuring the success of interventions and efficient use of resources.

To hear the recording go to Workforce Health and Wellbeing