Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has put in place to support NHS staff's mental wellbeing during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a comprehensive emotional, psychological and practical support package for National Health Service staff during and following the COVID-19 response.

This currently includes free access to well-being apps, virtual staff common rooms for mutual support, a dedicated support helpline and text service (in partnership with Samaritans), and a separate helpline offering bereavement support (in partnership with Hospice UK). NHS organisations are now also able to procure supplementary occupational health support for their staff through a new framework, available until 31 December.

More information on how to access this support can be found online at the following link:

people.nhs.uk/help