Frequently asked questions

Sussex Staff in Mind is a wellbeing hub open to health and care staff in Sussex. You can self-refer to the hub to book an appointment with a practitioner to talk about any mental wellbeing concerns.

The wellbeing hub is for staff working directly for the NHS or delivering NHS services, CQC registered social care organisations or in a healthcare role within a VCSE organisation. This hub is for the above staff that work in Sussex or for organisations that are based in Sussex.

Sussex Staff in Mind covers all the trusts and organisations that are working within the Sussex Health and Care Partnership Integrated Care System (ICS).

Sussex Staff in Mind see clinical and non-clinical staff within the areas listed above. For example, we see people working in finance, cleaners and administrative staff.

The Sussex Health and Care Partnership is an Integrated Care System (ICS) involving all NHS organisations and the local councils that look after public health and social care in Sussex. We take collective action to improve the health of local people, to improve the quality of health and care services and to ensure we make the most efficient use of our resources.

Our ICS comprises:

• Brighton and Hove City Council
• Brighton and Hove CCG
• Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
• East Sussex County Council
• East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
• NHS East Sussex CCG
• NHS West Sussex CCG
• Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
• Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
• Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• West Sussex County Council
• Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Overwhelming levels of stress and burnout is a widely reported issue for the NHS and Social Care workforce across the UK.

To compound the existing pressures that NHS and social care staff face, the onset of a global pandemic (COVID-19) in 2020 proceeded to increase the stress and burnout that staff were already experiencing many years before.

Sussex Staff in Mind is 1 of 40 hubs funded by NHS England in a response to the increased pressures of the pandemic on staff. It launched in January 2021. Originally the service was only open to NHS and Social Care staff. However, it has broadened its referral criteria to include staff working directly for the NHS or delivering NHS services, CQC registered social care organisations or in a healthcare role within a VCSE organisation.

• An immediate mental wellbeing self-assessment.
• An appointment (within 5 working days where possible) with an experienced and qualified practitioner.
• Support to access talking therapies and other relevant services.
• Agreed follow-up to check in on progress.

• When you submit the self-assessment and referral you will receive a confirmation email from Sussex Staff in Mind.
• We will be in touch within 2 working days of receiving your referral to arrange an appointment with a practitioner. We will arrange the appointment where we can within 5 working days of this contact. This can either be by telephone or video call.
• In the appointment the practitioner will give you a space to talk about what is going on and to think through possible options if needed. This could be self-help, psychoeducation or referral to talking therapies or even secondary services.
• The team work closely with the NHS talking therapies teams (IAPT). We can pass your information on to them so that you don't need to repeat everything in your initial appointment.
• If required, the team will also support you stepping up to more intensive secondary mental health care.
• After your initial appointment, your practitioner will offer you a follow-up appointment to check in how you are doing and how any referrals are progressing.

Access for staff to refer to the Hub is 24 hours, 7 days a week via the website. The operating hours of the service is 8am-8pm, Monday to Friday.

No. The service does not replace current occupational health and wellbeing services.

Sussex Staff in mind can be seen as another option of wellbeing support. Whereas referral to occupational health is often done through a manager; Staff in Mind is self-referral, and the team sits outside of other NHS Trusts and organisations. It is confidential and there is no need to inform your manager or GP.

The self-assessment gives a measure of the respondents' level of depression and anxiety. It comprises two elements:

• Questions 1 to 9 are taken from a measure known as the Personal Health Questionnaire or PHQ-9. They are used to assess and monitor depression severity.
• Questions 10 to 17 are taken from a measure known as the General Anxiety Disorder or GAD-7. They are used to assess and monitor the severity of a person's anxiety.

Both the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were developed by Drs. Robert L. Spitzer, Janet B.W. Williams, Kurt Kroenke and colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc.

The assessment will be conducted by a clinician via a video consultation using the Attend Anywhere platform or by telephone. You will receive the same quality of care as you would in a face-to-face appointment.

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services provide evidence-based psychological therapies to people with anxiety disorders and depression. The Staff in Mind team will be able to support you to access local IAPT services if appropriate. We work closely with IAPT services and can pass on your information to avoid you having to repeat everything from your initial appointment.

Staff in Mind will support your referral into your local IAPT service - Health in Mind in East Sussex, the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service, or Time to Talk in West Sussex.  We work closely with these services to support prompt access wherever possible.

If, for whatever reason, you don't want to be referred to your local service, we will discuss alternative options with you at your 1-1 appointment.

Psychoeducation involves learning about and understanding mental health and wellbeing. It's similar to physical education where you learn about how your body works, how to look after it and the impacts of different strains or stressors - but instead you apply this to the mind. 

Attend Anywhere is the video consultation platform nationally funded by NHS England and NHS Improvement to support NHS trusts and foundation trusts adopt in their response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Attend Anywhere is a web-based video conferencing tool which is used to provide video consultations to patients and service users through virtual clinics known as 'waiting rooms', and which facilitates pre-arranged appointment times. For instructions on how to access and use the Attend Anywhere platform click here.