NHS England has launched a £16 million NHS workforce wellbeing programme.
The NHS workforce wellbeing programme will run for three years and includes initiatives that have been co-designed and led by NHS staff.
NHS Charities Together, which represents around 200 charities in the health service, has provided an initial £6 million of funding for the programme and expects to offer a further £5 million in future. NHS England will contribute the remaining £5 million as part of its long-term workforce plan commitment to support staff wellbeing.
The initiatives on offer will be tailored to the needs of each NHS organisation.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive at the NHS, said: “As part of our NHS long-term workforce plan, every local employer should have a comprehensive offer for [its] staff to help them stay well and stay within the health service, but this new programme will support those small, extra improvements which staff tell us will make a big difference to their working lives.”
Ellie Orton, chief executive officer of NHS Charities Together, added: “We’re also putting proportionate investment across the devolved nations. We have ambitions for this programme to grow so that we can make sure we continue to deliver this important and much-needed support for as long as it’s needed.”
Caroline Waterfield, director of development and employment at NHS Employers, part of the NHS Confederation, said: “In recent years, we have seen countless examples of relatively small amounts of charitable funds being used to make a huge difference at a local level, for example to improve facilities and offer spaces to help staff wellbeing.”
