Peer support workers within acute mental health settings: a survey of NHS Trusts providing acute mental health care in England

We surveyed 47 NHS Trusts in England providing mental health acute inpatient care and asked them if and how they employed Peer Support Workers (PSWs) on their wards. A total of 59% of wards reported employing PSWs with a range of 0-45 PSWs per organisation. Band 3 (£24,071-£25,674 annual salary) was the most frequently reported pay band. Only 16 organisations had policies about supporting PSWs with less than half of the organisations providing access to ongoing training and clinical supervision.