The development and evaluation of the Leeds Clinical and Health Psychology department COVID-19 staff support service.

Abstract

During the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, supporting the emotional wellbeing of healthcare staff is essential to help prevent burnout and promote self-care, given the emotional demands and increased workload. An overview of the development of a staff support service in a large teaching hospital is provided. The Leeds Clinical and Health Psychology department set up a face to face, drop-in service, and telephone support service for all staff. A comprehensive evaluation database and attendance log was developed. This ensured that data were recorded from each staff support session. A short anonymous electronic survey was sent to staff who had accessed the service. Over an 18-week period, a total of 458 sessions were offered to support staff; 318 were face to face, 134 were telephone sessions, and six were email enquiries. Three hundred and ninety-four unique individuals accessed the service over this period. In response to the data collected, adjustments were made to when the service was available. Work-related stress was the most consistent reason for staff accessing support. Of the 458 staff contacts, 243 contacts specifically named COVID-19 related issues. Psychological first aid and coping strategy development were the most widely used interventions offered. The data collected highlights the benefit of offering a staff support service during COVID-19, and the benefit of evaluating a service, ensuring that the service is responsive to staff need. Public Significance StatementThis paper provides an evaluation of a new staff support service set up at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in a large teaching hospital in England. Data were collected over an 18-week period, providing information about the reasons for staff accessing support and the type of support offered. Feedback was also collected from staff members who accessed the service. The data collected highlighted the importance of offering emotional support to staff and informed future service planning for ongoing staff support.