Understanding and mitigating the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NHS staff in England

We will investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health and wellbeing of NHS staff in England. We plan to do this by using a combination of online questionnaires and, with a smaller group of participants, more detailed telephone interviews. Participants will complete questionnaires about their health, distress, and work environment at baseline, four and
eight months later. Having already piloted our processes, we now want to involve additional participants from more NHS Trusts, follow them up over time to see whether their mental health improves or worsens, and to identify which groups of staff may need tailored support.
Our questionnaire has been produced alongside healthcare staff in our local NHS Trusts - but we know we need wider participant involvement. We will form a study steering panel consisting of representatives whose support we have already gained (e.g unions, employers, and different staff groups) and who have enthusiastically collaborated with the pilot study. We will feedback emerging results to participating Trusts, networks, our partners, and NHS England, from which we have full encouragement, to help them prepare for future psychological health and workforce planning needs.

The nation has relied heavily on NHS healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic and an effective workforce requires good mental health. Poor quality surveys report high levels of distress in HCWs unconfirmed by some population based studies. So robust evidence is still lacking on the size and impact of the pandemic on HCWs, who is at risk, and what support they may require, if any.
We will investigate the psychosocial and occupational outcomes of the pandemic on NHS staff in England, using a well-defined sampling frame across 18 Trusts. Our pilot study, already conducted in three Trusts (Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital, and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts) has demonstrated feasibility and acceptability of a brief baseline questionnaire. The original sample will be followed four and eight months later, with 15 new centres contributing data at these timepoints. Questionnaire data will be validated through standardised diagnostic interviews administered by telephone in a sub-sample, to distinguish distress from disorder. Additionally, we will address the use and outcomes of staff support/wellbeing, and a UKRI-funded ethnicity-focused module will capture inequalities in mental health and occupational outcomes. PPI/E will be central: we will establish a steering PPI/E group of NHS workers, unions, and employers, ensuring strong representation of BAME staff. Findings will inform an effective support strategy for NHS staff during and following the pandemic, for example through workforce planning, emergency response strategies, or targeted support. The project team and partners have extensive networks in policy and practice, including NHS-E, allowing for rapid dissemination of findings.