A HAMPSHIRE service that’s been a lifeline for NHS staff struggling with their mental health will close at the end of the month due to the government stopping its funding.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Mental Health Hub is one of 40 groups in England launched in February 2021, in response to the trauma experienced by NHS and social care staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The hubs have provided NHS and social care staff with fast access to free and confidential mental health services, easing workforce shortages

Despite evidence of a strong link between staff well-being and patient safety, the Department for Health and Social Care cut funding at the end of March.

The British Psychological Society (BPS) and Association of Clinical Psychologists – UK (ACP-UK) has found up to 13 hubs in England have already closed, or are pending imminent closure, with many more set to close in the coming months as teams try to identify alternative funding arrangements.

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The psychology organisations have launched the #FundNHSHubs campaign, calling on the government to commit to a minimum of one year’s transitional funding so the service can continue to support staff and identify new potential funding opportunities. 

The campaign is supported has been backed by actor Stephen Fry. In a video published by the British Psychological Society, he warns that the closure of the hubs could have a disastrous effect on the health service and urges people to support the campaign by writing to their MP.

Speaking in the video, Stephen Fry said: “When soldiers come back from a war, we like to think we are proud enough as a nation to support them and support them through all the stresses and anxieties and mental health problems that soldiers have after fighting on the front line in a war. We must do the same with our health workers, surely.”  

NHS staff sickness figures for January, published by NHS Digital, reveal that anxiety, stress, depression, and other psychiatric illnesses, continue to be the most reported reason for sickness absence amongst NHS staff in England, accounting for more than 520,470 full time equivalent staff days lost and 23.3 per cent of all sickness absence.

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Professor Tony Lavender, workforce and training lead for the British Psychological Society’s Division of Clinical Psychology, said: “The hubs are needed now more than ever. Alongside colleagues across England, staff in Hampshire are desperately in need of psychological support. They are have been managing terrible pressures, are exhausted and struggling to cope in a working environment that is harming their health.

“With a workforce under unprecedented strain, against the backdrop of a staff recruitment and retention crisis, patients are not getting the care and services they need and deserve.

“This is unacceptable for both staff and patients, and the government’s refusal to commit to funding the hubs is yet another blow to a workforce already on its knees.

Professor Mike Wang, chair of the Association of Clinical Psychologists-UK, said: “It’s deeply concerning to see the hubs closing. While there is some alternative provision for staff needing mental health support, they are overwhelmed and simply cannot - and do not - offer the swift, high-quality service and confidential support provided by the hubs.” 

For more information go to hiowstaff.nhs.uk/.