West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is scaling back psychological support for staff as it faces ‘huge task’ of saving £38m

An NHS trust that needs to save about £38 million over the next three years is scaling back its spending on some staff wellbeing services, including psychological support.

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT), which runs West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, is facing ‘significant’ financial challenges that must be addressed immediately, said Jeremy Over, an executive director at the trust, in communication with staff.

Mr Over, who is executive director of workforce and communications, said they had a ‘huge task’ ahead of them – needing to save approximately £38m over the next three years, which is close to 10 per cent of its income.

He wrote: “To address our financial challenges we are having to take some really difficult decisions so it is with a heavy heart that one of those decisions is that we must scale-back the amount of money we are spending on some of our staff wellbeing programmes.

“Unfortunately, this includes reducing the level of support we can offer through our staff psychology team.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We know how important this service is to many colleagues and in some instances, it has literally been a lifeline.”

Mr Over wrote that the service was set up during the coronavirus pandemic, using funds the trust no longer receives, to support staff with complex psychological needs because of the challenges at that time, and was expanded and made substantive. It receives no regional or national funding.

Going forwards, the trust will retain a certain level of investment in the team rather than closing it entirely, Mr Over wrote.

In the future the team will only be able to support those colleagues who have ‘the most urgent or complex needs and those for whom their condition has been primarily caused by work-based experiences/trauma’.

He said discussions and HR consultations were taking place with affected staff from the staff psychology team, adding: “We appreciate this is a difficult time for all those involved.”

“Whilst this is undoubtedly sad and disappointing news, it is comforting to know that support will continue for those most in need of help,” he wrote.

In a statement to SuffolkNews, Dr Ewen Cameron, chief executive of WSFT, said: "Whilst staff wellbeing will always be a priority for our organisation, we cannot get away from the fact that, like many NHS trusts across the country, we are facing financial challenges.

“The staff psychology team was set up during the Covid-19 pandemic using funding available at the time, to support staff with complex psychological needs arising from the pandemic. Since then, the team has provided fantastic support to many of our staff.

“Sadly, we are no longer funded or commissioned to provide this service for our staff. However, in recognition of the important part they play in maintaining staff well-being, we have chosen to retain a level of this service, so we can continue to support those most in need.”

In his chief executive’s report to the Board of Directors meeting in July, Dr Cameron said: “We are in a significant period of financial constraint and cost savings are critically important over the next three years.

“Together Sam and Jonathan will be working with our teams to help recover our financial position. While this is a sizeable challenge and one being felt across the NHS, patient safety will always be a central focus.”

Sam Tappenden is the trust’s first executive director of strategy and transformation and will help WSFT to make transformative changes and improvements in a wide range of areas, the report said.

Jonathan Rowell has taken on the position of director of financial recovery for a 12-month secondment from NHS England.

At the start of 2024/25, the trust agreed to finish this financial year with a £15.2 million deficit. As of July, this stands at £11.6 million, £3.4 million worse than planned at this point in the year.

The trust is working through a £16.5 million cost improvement programme, which looks at not just reducing costs, but making efficiencies/changes in the way it works.

Last month, SuffolkNews reported that WSFT was slowing recruitment as well as reducing spending on temporary and agency staff in a bid to make £16.5 million in savings.

We have also covered the number of working days lost at the trust due to staff experiencing stress, anxiety and depression.