NHS England and RCGP launch COVID-19 counselling service for practice staff

NHS England has launched a counselling support initiative to assist practice staff during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

GPs and their teams can now access digital ‘individual coaching support’ to ‘offload’ their experiences and develop ‘practical strategies’ for dealing with them, NHS England said.

Support will be available to both clinical and non-clinical staff between 7.15am and 10pm, with an initial session of up to 45 minutes and subsequent sessions dependent on the individual’s needs.

The #LookingAfterYouToo sessions will be delivered virtually, ‘preferably’ via a video platform but with telephone appointments also available, NHS England said.

As part of the service, developed in collaboration with the RCGP, participants may be signposted to ‘further support’ by their coach and receive follow-up emails to support them to ‘maintain their wellness’ once their sessions have concluded, it added.

NHS England said: ‘We recognise that our frontline primary care colleagues involved in the delivery of primary care services, both clinical and non-clinical, are facing unprecedented challenges through Covid-19. 

‘We are keen to ensure all staff delivering frontline primary care services feel supported to maintain their psychological wellbeing during this time, enabling them to maintain the delivery of frontline primary care.’

It added: ‘This will be a space for you to offload the demands of whatever you are experiencing and be supported in developing practical strategies for dealing with this.’ 

Practice staff can register for an initial session with a coach at https://people.nhs.uk/lookingafteryoutoo/register/