Alastair Campbell supports #FundNHSHubs campaign
The author, podcaster and mental health advocate has blogged about the campaign to save the NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs, and urged readers to write to their MPs.
31 May 2023
Writer, co-host of The Rest is Politics podcast. and mental health advocate Alastair Campbell is the latest public figure to support the BPS's #FundNHSHubs campaign.
In a blog on his website, entitled 'For every step forward on mental health, the government seem determined to take us two steps back', he writes:
"The Minister's position on the future of the hubs has ranged from 'a decision has yet to made', to 'wait for the NHS workforce plan,' back to a 'decision has yet to be made'.
"Yet given the pressures they are under, health and social care staff need psychological help more than ever, and there is plenty of evidence of the strong link between staff wellbeing and patient safety.
Also, the hubs have helped keep staff in their jobs – or supported them to return to work – during a workforce recruitment and retention crisis. So they end up saving money in the long-term."
He also urges his readers to write to their MP and support the campaign.
About the campaign
Launched in February 2021, in response to the trauma experienced by NHS staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, the hubs have provided NHS and social care staff with fast access to free and confidential local mental health services.
However government funding ended on 31 March 2023 and with no word from the government on future funding, hubs have been left in limbo with many forced to close, leaving staff without access to vital mental health services.
The #FundNHSHubs campaign is calling on the government to prioritise the mental wellbeing of NHS and social care staff and provide a minimum of one year's transitional funding for the hubs.
We're asking BPS members, and members of the public, to write to their MP to raise their concerns and to urge the government to protect the future of the hubs.