1. Will the Minister make a statement on the support available to NHS staff with mental health problems? OAQ53953

Thank you for the question. The Welsh Government is committed to working in partnership with NHS Wales employers and trade unions through the Welsh partnership forum to support staff with mental health problems. This is in line with the NHS Wales core principles and the quadruple aim of 'A Healthier Wales' for a motivated and sustainable health and social care workforce.

Can I think the Minister for that reply? I wanted to raise this issue because we know that mental health-related issues in the NHS are obviously an issue, as they are in all workplaces, and although we have the support networks in place, I'm sure Members will agree with me that we can always do more. Llywydd, sometimes we have to draw on the most tragic circumstances to act. Shocking figures recently revealed online show that more than 300 NHS nurses have committed suicide over the border in England in just seven years. The highest on record was 54 in 2015. Minister, would you agree with me that ensuring we have the right support for NHS staff is very important, not only for patient safety, but also to ensure that we reach our ambitions as outlined in the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016? Can I also ask the Government to redouble its efforts to support our heroic NHS staff here in Wales who every day look out for others, so it's only right that we all look after them?

Yes, I'm happy to give the commitment about the Government's approach to supporting our staff within the health service. That goes into not just wanting to recruit the right numbers of staff across the service but also the additional investment we're making in training. I'm pleased to confirm that on the nurse staffing levels Act we are taking forward our commitment to roll out the Act, as well as making sure the duties are real in the first area we've chosen. And in terms of the broader support that the NHS should provide as an employer—the largest employer within Wales—that is a particular focus of activity within the partnership forum. One of the things I'm looking at is a well-being service introduced in Swansea Bay University Health Board. That's a Bevan exemplar project and it's been taken forward to the partnership forum as part of their consideration of best practice to try and further include the support we do give to our NHS staff.

I'm pleased this issue has been raised. Clearly, mental health is an issue that affects all areas, but our NHS staff clearly are vulnerable to the effects of it. You mentioned there—I think it was the Swansea area that you said there's an element of good practice. It's obviously important that that good practice is rolled out across the rest of Wales as soon as possible. So, could you tell us what steps you're taking to make sure that where there is good practice in a local health board other health boards that might not be experiencing such good practice are able to benefit from the lessons that have been learned?

Yes, I'm happy to expand further because it's a good example of how we do use our system here in Wales. The partnership forum draws together the Government, employers and trade unions. So, the partnership forum is already taking steps to look at that good practice, to draw it together, and then to try to make sure that the recently agreed policy on managing absence in the workplace that does look at prevention and supporting people to return to work earlier and to remain in work if at all possible is actually supported by practical examples of good practice, to make sure people are aware, and we then understand how the good practice is being properly rolled out across our services. So, it's a good example of looking at evidence, looking at best practice, in order to learn from it right across the system.

I'm sure the Minister will agree with me that staff can suffer considerably from stress at times of service change, even if that service change will eventually deliver, potentially, improvements in their own working terms and conditions. The health committee this morning heard from the Velindre University NHS Trust who seem to have a very positive and proactive approach to managing their staff stress through times of necessary service change, and a good understanding, I thought, of the pressures that those staff will face even though the staff themselves acknowledge that those changes will be changes for the better. What further steps can the Minister take—potentially through the partnership forum as he's already referred to that in his answers to Nick Ramsay and to Jack Sargeant—to ensure that where there is good practice in the NHS around supporting staff through service change that that is shared, and that those inevitably stressful periods are effectively managed so we don't risk situations where what is inevitably challenging actually turns into a situation that is actually bad for somebody's mental health and well-being?

I fully recognise there are different points of stress within the life of staff within our national health service, and for those in particular who deal with emergency aspects or end-of-life aspects there's particular stress that goes along with that. Any element of service change is unsettling for any group of staff in any particular part of business, industry or the voluntary sector. So, we are looking to deliberately learn from that through the partnership forum, but also to learn from where that service change has already taken place and is taking place.

We're seeing significant service change taking place within Hywel Dda, and what has changed significantly from the last time service change was proposed is there's been much greater engagement with staff at the start of that process. You will recall when you were an Assembly Member previously, that, actually, lots of staff within Hywel Dda did not feel they were engaged in those discussions. And even now, when there's much greater agreement on what the future will look like, there are still challenges to work with. And Aneurin Bevan is another good example. We're changing the system in Aneurin Bevan, with the creation of the new Grange University Hospital, and assess that there's change in other parts of the whole healthcare system. So, we are learning about what is happening now as well as in the past. The partnership forum is exactly the place to make sure that learning is shared across the whole of Wales.