Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on improving mental health resources for (a) nurses and (b) other medical care providers.

The health and wellbeing of all National Health Service staff is very important. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, by supporting our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals.

In the formulation of the plan, officials from the Department have regularly met with their counterparts in the devolved administrations to discuss and share updates.

Within the 10-Year Health Plan, we have committed to introducing a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace. We will work with the Social Partnership Forum to design and deliver these standards. We will also roll out Staff Treatment hubs to ensure staff have access to high quality support for mental health and back conditions.

NHS staff in England currently have access to a helpline for mental health crisis support and the Practitioner Health service, which provides support for more complex mental health issues.