AQW 9986/22-27


Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford


Tabled Date: 12/04/2024
Answered On Date: 26/04/2024
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health how he will address the levels of burnout and stress prevalent in the emergency medicine workforce.


Answer:
The health and wellbeing of all health and social care staff is recognised as a key theme in the Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy 2026: Delivering for our People.
All HSC Trusts currently have in place a variety of measures to support staff health and wellbeing. These include psychological support helplines, reading resources, videos, and mindfulness relaxation exercises. In situations where specific individual help is needed, this is available through the Occupational Health arrangements in each Trust.
To further support this provision, my Department recently commissioned work to develop a staff health and wellbeing framework. This will focus on key elements of health and wellbeing and provide a series of steps to assist HSC employers in their ongoing planning and implementation of effective processes and resources for improving staff health, wellbeing and safety at work. Development of this framework is due to conclude shortly and will be available for utilisation by HSC employers in the coming months.
In addition, a review of HSC Occupational Health Services, commissioned by my Department and HSC Human Resource Directors, was completed in 2023.
Work is currently ongoing on the implementation of recommendations arising from this review with the aim of further strengthening the provision of HSC Occupational Health Services.
Regarding the particular pressures faced by Emergency Departments, it is my priority to reduce pressures on these Departments and the staff working in them by ensuring that patients are diverted to the most appropriate care pathway first time. Through the implementation of the Review of Urgent and Emergency Care, this includes the use of Phone First services, increasing the number of rapid access ambulatory clinics and increasing the focus on community provision, through services such as Hospital at Home.