York St John University report reveals vital role of mental health and wellbeing hubs for health, care and emergency service staff

The value of Resilience Hubs, a specialist service offering mental health and wellbeing support to all emergency, health and care staff, is highlighted in a report commissioned by the NHS.

A new report has highlighted that specialist wellbeing support offered by the Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub played an important part in hundreds of staff staying in or returning to work from 2021-2023. The report was produced by the Institute for Health and Care Improvement at York St John University.

Resilience Hubs were set up across the country in 2021 following the pandemic, to provide emergency, health and social care staff with swift access to mental health and emotional wellbeing support. The 40 hubs provided health, care and emergency service workers with free, confidential and rapid access to assessment and support from dedicated local mental health services.

The Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub is one of 17 hubs remaining across the UK. It continues to support health, care, and emergency service workers, as well as their families, across North Yorkshire, Vale of York, East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, North Lincolnshire, and North East Lincolnshire. Support is offered for a wide range of issues including work-related stress, long covid, menopause and bereavement, as well as trauma, anxiety and depression. Advice and guidance is provided on a confidential basis, completely independent of existing mental health and internal occupational health services.

The report evaluated service user experiences accessing the Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub and key findings include:

• Service users typically reported their experiences to be extremely positive with almost all users finding benefit in engagement with the Resilience Hub
• The services were experienced as accessible, as meeting personal needs and expectations, and including self-directed and compassionate care
• Service users expressed relief and gratitude for the availability, expertise and effectiveness  of the service
• The service was considered central to many service users’ return to work
• Eight out of ten service users who were considering a period away from work prior to being supported by the hub reported that they remained at work because of the support they received
• Half of the service users who were off work prior to being supported by the hub reported that they returned to work because of the support they received.

The report collated feedback from people who have used the hub. Comments included: “It was a great relief to find some personal and independent support during a very difficult time for me and my family”; “It was a very helpful and supportive when I was feeling pretty desperate”; “Fantastic support that has given me strategies to manage work and enjoy home life more”; and “Excellent all-round care. You have saved my life.”

Professor Andrew Hill led the work for the Institute for Health and Care Improvement. He said: “Improving wellbeing in the workplace is essential and will help retain excellent staff and maintain high-quality health services. We are pleased to support the Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub with this work and count them as part of the growing number of regional partners of the Institute for Health and Care Improvement.”

The report was commissioned by the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership. Holly Walker, Service Manager for Humber and North Yorkshire staff Resilience Hub said: “Health, care and emergency service staff have been under immense pressure since the COVID-19 pandemic, and that pressure still continues today. It’s so important that we support staff to enable them to carry on doing the amazing work that they do and to help people remain in their roles to provide the vital care and support needed by so many.”

Dr Joanne Jordan, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead of the Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub added: “Research shows that emergency, health and care workers are at a higher risk of developing mental health conditions if not adequately supported. The Royal College of Nursing has also just released figures that report a rise in suicidal thoughts amongst nurses, compared to the same period last year.

“Most people go into health, care and emergency services because they’re passionate about helping others. We’re all human; we all have our needs and challenges. That’s why it’s so important that the passion extends full circle to support the workforce that give others so much. I’m proud to be part of what the Resilience Hub has done and continues to do for our local workforce, and I look forward to continuing to support our hard working and dedicated staff.”

The British Psychological Society (BPS) has recently published their report ‘Learning from the NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs’ which also highlights how long term funding for staff mental health and wellbeing services is fundamental to staff retention and the delivery of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

If you or someone you know works in health, care or emergency services in the Humber and North Yorkshire region and needs emotional and wellbeing help and support visit the Humber and North Yorkshire Resilience Hub website to find out more about support available. Funding for staff mental health and wellbeing services is fundamental to staff retention and the delivery of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.