Health and Social Care Workers quality of working life and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic 7th May-3rd July 2020 Executive Summary

Executive Summary
In December 2019, a novel coronavirus emerged (COVID-19) which was quickly designated a
pandemic with all countries urged to take ‘urgent and aggressive action’ (WHO 2020). Worldwide
social and economic disruption for governments and their citizens followed with a rising death toll
and efforts to prepare, protect and treat citizens impacting across all sectors in society. While it
was clear that trying to fight this pandemic is everybody’s business (WHO 2020), the task of caring
for affected individuals and their families in the UK has fallen to an already greatly pressured,
understaffed and underfunded health and social care sector, and those who work within it.
In April 2020, funding was secured from Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NI SCC) and the
Southern Health and Social Care Trust to support the dissemination of an online survey to nurses,
midwives, Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), social care workers and social workers in the UK,
with support from other funders following. The aim was to explore the impact of providing health
and social care during a pandemic on the UK health and social care workforce. A survey
questionnaire measured Well-being, Quality of Working Life, and ways of coping whilst working
during the pandemic. Work and home life segmentation was also explored. Additional open-ended
questions sought further detail from respondents on how the pandemic had affected their work
and work setting, what employers had done to support their staff, lessons that could be learned
for future pandemics and ‘normal’ health and social care provision. The perceptions of health and
social care workers about the ‘Clap for Carers’ initiative were also garnered.