- All respondents are concerned about the mental, physical and financial wellbeing of staff as a result of cost of living pressures, and the majority (61%) report a rise in staff sickness absence due to mental health.
- Trusts report staff struggling to afford to come to work, with almost three quarters of respondents (71%) describing this as having a significant or severe impact on their trust.
- Trusts say the rising cost of living is causing staff to look for roles elsewhere: two thirds (68%) report a significant or severe impact from staff leaving the trust for other sectors, such as hospitality or retail, where employers can offer competitive terms. This increased turnover is costly for trusts and can disrupt their response to operational pressures.
- The vast majority of trust leaders (95%) said that the cost of living had either significantly or severely worsened health inequalities in their local area. As rising housing, energy and food costs put more people in the position of making difficult choices about heating or eating, trust leaders expect to see more people pushed into poverty and its health consequences.
- Trusts already report a rise in demand due to the rising cost of living. The majority (72%) say they have seen an increase in mental health presentations due to stress, debt and poverty.
- Trusts are increasingly working in partnership and providing additional community outreach services to support staff and patients. Some are offering widened access to digital initiatives for remote services, or providing referrals to local foodbanks, debt advice services, and other services which support people in financial difficulty.
- As major local employers, trusts are also stepping up support for their staff. Three quarters (72%) offer financial advice and education, with 10% more planning to introduce this service. Others are offering direct support, with 27% offering food banks for staff, and 19% planning to do so.
- Trust leaders are keen to do as much as they can to mitigate the impact of the increase in the cost of living on staff and patients. However some expressed concern about how sustainable it will be to maintain their initiatives, particularly given cost pressures on existing NHS budgets and a lack of co-ordinated central support or funding. Trust leaders are also conscious of the need to ensure equity of access for those most in need, while avoiding stigma or inadvertently creating division between staff groups.