A free coaching programme aimed at helping primary care staff develop their careers and look after their wellbeing has been closed.
NHS England said the ‘Looking After You’ coaching service, which gave both clinical and non-clinical staff access to experienced coaches to discuss workplace issues, has been discontinued ‘after careful consideration’ and following the conclusion of ‘a review of national support offers’.
It explained that the review, started after NHS England and Health Education England merged last year, was aimed at consolidating ‘the way we develop and support all NHS staff’.
The coaching scheme was first set up in April 2020 just after the outbreak of Covid, recognising that frontline staff were coping with increased pressures. Funding had been allocated until March this year.
Under the programme, free and confidential sessions with coaches were offered to help individuals cope with workload pressures and stress, look after wellbeing, develop strategies for dealing with difficult circumstances, help them think about career decisions, and to support managers and leaders in the challenges they face dealing with teams and managing change.
NHS England said more than 10,000 staff have used the service since 2020. Last year, it was flagged under QOF guidance (for 2023/24) as a key resource that staff should use to prevent stress and burnout, as part of the quality improvement workforce and wellbeing indicators that had been introduced.
A NHS England spokesperson told Management in Practice: ‘A full review of national support offers to consolidate the way we develop and support all NHS staff was held, and the Looking After You coaching programme was not renewed.
‘NHS staff [including those in GP practices] can continue to access national wellbeing support via the NHS England website and development support, including coaching and mentoring, by the Leadership Academy. Integrated Care Boards will also continue to support staff through local programmes and initiatives.’
John Krafts, who runs Kraft HR Consulting and works closely with GP practices, said the closure of the coaching scheme will be seen by general practice as ‘a blow’ despite it being put in place to provide support during the pandemic.
He also said it will be of particular concern to practice managers, ‘who are key to supporting workplace wellbeing but now with diminished resources’.
Mr Krafts said: ‘The pressures on NHS primary care staff are relentless and this will not come as good news as we approach the winter with its inevitable pressures on primary care.
‘Although alternatives are available, GP employers may need to look at funding resilience coaching themselves to enable the avoidance of burn-out. However, GPs are more than ever struggling with the financial realities of delivering NHS services.’
Earlier this year, it was also announced that funding for the free mental health support service Practitioner Health was under threat although the resource will still be available to GP and primary care staff until the end of March 2025.
