Workplace wellbeing for the general practice workforce across England: mapping current services.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Workplace wellbeing among healthcare practitioners is a critical global issue.
• General practice staff in England are significantly affected by poor wellbeing.
• Current support mechanisms and accountability for this workforce are not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map the provision of wellbeing strategies and interventions for the general practice workforce in England.
• To understand the landscape of existing support systems and identify gaps.

Main Methods:

• A survey and grey literature review were conducted in contemporary England general practice.
• Freedom of Information (FOI) requests were sent to all 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England.
• Targeted searches and stakeholder engagement supplemented the FOI data collection.

Main Results:

• All 42 ICBs responded to the FOI requests, revealing diverse approaches to staff wellbeing.
• A total of 139 wellbeing services were identified via FOI requests and 53 via targeted searches.
• The majority of identified services were reactive and focused on individual-level support.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first comprehensive map of workplace wellbeing services for England's general practice staff.
• Findings indicate a recognized interest in staff wellbeing, but current provision is largely insufficient.
• There is a pressing need for more preventive, systemic approaches to address workplace wellbeing factors, with future research required to evaluate support impacts.