The NHS needs a National Wellbeing Guardian (HSJ, 6 January 2022)

Summary

The wellbeing of NHS staff is now recognised as a priority, as evidenced by the introduction of Wellbeing Guardians into the NHS. The NHS needs to appoint a National Wellbeing Guardian to provide a leadership role for the work of these guardians, and more generally to actively promote wellbeing in NHS staff, write Narinder Kapur, Christian Harkensee and Terry Skitmore in HSJ.

Content

The exact roles and responsibilities of a National Wellbeing Guardian could include:

• Providing leadership and guidance for Wellbeing Guardians.
• Helping to draw up training programmes for Wellbeing Guardians.
• Ensuring that there are fair disciplinary procedures in place in the NHS, and that staff wellbeing is at the fore in disciplinary processes.
• Promoting measures that safeguard the wellbeing of all staff, including black and minority ethnic NHS staff.
• Applying evidence from scientific studies into wellbeing and its impact in work settings.
• Setting wellbeing priorities for ministers to consider when they are planning any NHS reforms/major changes.
• Liaising with regulatory and professional bodies to ensure harmony in the effective delivery of wellbeing programmes.
• Helping to ensure that relevant undergraduate and post-training training programmes deal properly with issues relating to wellbeing in the workplace.