Project Name: KSS AHSN ‘Don’t Walk Past’ Mental Health Game Collaborative Working

Project Summary:

Across the area covered by KSS AHSN Ltd there has been a high rate of staff turnover, absenteeism and job vacancies which have been exacerbated due to staff dealing with the pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this, KSS AHSN have piloted an App to help improve the emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing of staff.

The aim of this project is to support the deployment of the App: the “Don’t Walk Past” mental health game (explained in the background section below) across Kent Surrey and Sussex. The aim is to reduce staff absence and turnover rates by supporting the mental health and wellbeing of NHS staff.

Planned Milestones:

  1. Kick off meeting and baseline measure established
  2. App reviewed and played by multidisciplinary steering group members
  3. Roll out of App (phase 1 site) across a clinical and non-clinical area – Surrey and Sussex Healthcare
  4. 6 month data collection from phase 1 sites
  5. Roll out of App (Phase 2 sites) at University Hospital Sussex
  6. 12 month data from phase 1 sites, 6-month data from phase 2 sites
  7. Publishing of outcomes

Expected Benefits:

Anticipated Benefits for Patients:

By improving NHS workforce challenges (for example absenteeism) patients will be able to have improved access to NHS services, due to less absence.

Anticipated Benefits for the Organisation:

By improving NHS staff morale and supporting their mental health, there would be less of a workforce gap, leading to improvement in services by creating more appointments for patients, thus improving patient care to meet constitutional targets.

Anticipated Benefits for Novartis:

Without a sufficient workforce many services are not running efficiently with patients waiting long periods of time to be seen by appropriate staff at appropriate times.

By improving the workforce health and well-being (through a reduction in absence rates) this will provide an increased opportunity for patients to receive NICE approved medicines, including Novartis treatments, in a more timely manner.

Start Date & Duration: February 2023 - May 2024, 15 months duration

UK2302140864 I February 2022

Project Name: KSS AHSN ‘Don’t Walk Past’ Mental Health Game Collaborative Working 

Partner Organisation(s): Kent Surrey Sussex AHSN Limited (now trading as Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex)

Completion Date: March 2024

Outcome Summary:

The project aimed to address high rate of staff turnover, absenteeism and job vacancies across the area covered by KSS AHSN Ltd by piloting and scaling an App to help improve the awareness of emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing of staff and patients. 

The project deployed the “Don’t Walk Past” mental health game across a multi-disciplinary steering group and clinical and non-clinical teams in Surrey and Sussex Health Care, with the aim of reducing staff absence and turnover rates by supporting the mental health and wellbeing of NHS staff.  

Key Project Outcomes Data:

6 month’s data from the pilot areas was collected via a series of surveys

Project outcome measures were established but due to the small number of staff who participated in the pilot the outcome measures cannot be used to reflect impact of game play.

Outcomes:

  • Deployment of App across clinical and non-clinical teams in Surrey and Sussex Health Care
  • The project team acknowledges the following learnings from the project:
    • An easier method of accessing the game could have resulted in an increased uptake of game play
    • Specific time is required during working hours for participants to play the game and do the surveys. 
    • The game featured on the App could have been shorter to be more accessible
    • It could also have been more targeted towards spotting signs of emotional stress in fellow staff members, as opposed trying to apply this to patients as well. 
    • Incentivisation for participants could have helped with momentum. 
    • Promotion of the benefits of the project from a senior stakeholder from within the NHS setting would have boosted the awareness and importance of piloting the app.
    • Identifying “champions” to help encourage staff within the pilot areas to play the game and complete the surveys could have resulted in increased uptake of game play

Conclusion: 

Despite this project closing early due to a lack of success in the pilot period as well as conflicting priorities within the ICS during a staff restructure, Heath Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, continue to be committed to supporting the NHS strategic priority of making the NHS the ‘Best Place to Work’ and achieving a target of reducing staff turnover. 

FA-1133063 I January 2025