Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) protect and (b) improve the wellbeing of staff working in oncology departments during the covid-19 outbreak.

From the outset of the pandemic we have put together a comprehensive psychological and emotional support package that remains in place for all National Health Service staff, including oncology professionals. This includes a dedicated support line available for staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week, specialist bereavement support and free access to mental health and wellbeing apps.  This support has been accessed by over 900,000 staff and many more have also accessed offers locally.

We are in the process of setting up 40 dedicated mental health and wellbeing hubs across the country, of which 35 have now been established and are providing proactive outreach and assessment services, ensuring staff receive rapid access to evidence-based mental health services. In addition to £15 million spent on establishing the hubs in 2020/21, we have invested a further £37 million to ensure this offer continues to improve staff mental health throughout 2021/22. These hubs will focus on staff with more complex needs and will proactively identify at-risk groups.