Mental health fears for thousands of frontline staff as Lancashire Resilience Hub in danger of losing funding

Lancashire and South Cumbria's Resilience Hub also known as Lancashire Traumatic Stress Service at Tudor House in Euxton Lane was set up in October 2020 with government funding for NHS workers to aid them with their mental health. However, the hubs for struggling NHS staff could be forced to reduce their services or even close their doors if their funding doesn’t continue meaning those suffering from a wide range of mental health illnesses could see massive disruptions to the treatment they receive.

The Chorley hub has helped many individuals and their families battling with the psychological impact of the pandemic since 2020, with Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle voicing his delight that the service was offered. Elaine, who has been a community nurse for Lancashire for over 26 years used the hub after being hospitalised in December 2020 with Covid and pneumonia.

She said: “Being on the frontline I became very poorly and thought I was going to die. When I came out of hospital and was sorting my physical recovery my psychological well-being was also affected as I was having flashbacks. I was aware of the Resilience Hubs and self referred myself. They diagnosed me with trauma and stress related disorder and gave me high intensity therapy training. I seen them once a week for eight months.

“The therapist was very skilled. Had it not been for them I would not be as well adjusted today. There is a lot of stress with public sector workers and we need this service. If you had to go through the GP route it would take months to be seen. I hate to think where I would be without this vital service. It funding stops more staff will be going off sick.”

In a joint statement James Fleet, Chief People Officer from NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, and Rob Cragg, Chief People Officer from Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, told the Post that a final decision was yet to be made and that the mental health and well-being was of high importance.

“We acknowledge the difficult few years our NHS staff have been through due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Resilience Hub was established in direct response to this. Our dedicated staff are our greatest resource, and their mental health and well-being is a priority for us. Each organisation continues to provide ongoing health and wellbeing services, support and guidance for all staff.

“We are working together along with colleagues at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, to explore future options which will allow us to continue to offer an enhanced mental health and wellbeing service. We want to do this in a way which is sustainable and will support our NHS colleagues across the whole of Lancashire and South Cumbria. The service is currently closed to any new referrals, however everyone currently undergoing care will remain on their care pathways.”

If you would like to sign the petition to continue funding the hubs to help NHS staff CLICK HERE.