Thank you for contacting me about the Every Doctor #ReviveTheNHS campaign.
My colleague Therese Coffey – the new Health Secretary – recognises the challenges facing our NHS and her priorities include reducing ambulance waiting lists and reducing the NHS backlog this Autumn.
I fully understand that the last two years have been a very difficult time for NHS staff, who have done an incredible job in immensely challenging circumstances. I am absolutely committed, as are my colleagues, to supporting NHS staff with their mental health.
We owe them a great debt of gratitude and I pay tribute to all NHS workers here on the Isle of Wight. I am also incredibly grateful to all those retired and partially returned staff who have returned to work for their commitment and service during the pandemic.
A total of 40 dedicated support hubs across the country offer staff access to mental health services. Services can be accessed over the phone with onward referral to online and one-to-one expert help from qualified mental health clinicians, therapists, recovery workers and psychologists.
The suspension of the NHS Pension Scheme restrictions has already been extended. On 28 August, the Department of Health and Social Care launched a consultation on proposals to further extend the suspension of the NHS Pension Scheme restrictions until 31 March 2023. The consultation closed on 12 September. The Department is currently reviewing responses and will respond appropriately in due course.
To expand the NHS workforce during the pandemic, the Government introduced the Health and Care visa in August 2020 to make it quicker and cheaper for regulated health and care professionals to secure their visa to work in the Health and Care sector.
Furthermore, a number of Health and Care occupations, such as senior care workers, nurses and auxiliary nurses and assistants, feature on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL).
In December 2021 the Government accepted recommendations that care workers be added to the SOL, making them eligible for the Health and Care Visa.
This change came into force on 15 February 2022 and is making it easier for care employers to recruit eligible workers to reduce any staff shortages through fast-track processing and reduced visa fees.
I thank all those who are involved within the Health and Social Care sector on the Island for the vital work which they do.
Thank you once again for contacting me.