Formal support was broadly available to all, but for some groups it was peer support that proved hardest to access, and that gap matters more than we might think.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the NHS rolled out a range of support services for its staff: well-being hubs, rest rooms, free parking, and food parcels. By six months in, 83% of staff surveyed had used at least one of these services. On the face of it, the system was working.
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What is making staff sick and wanting to leave their job?
By Syeda Tazrin, Bethany Croak, Sharon Stevelink, Neil Greenberg
Long waiting lists and cancelled operations in the National Health Service (NHS) have long dominated headlines. Recently, the pressures on the NHS workforce have intensified; 9.6% of NHS staff left the service in the year to September 2020, compared to 12.5% in the year to September 2022 (1). The COVID-19 pandemic along with the ongoing difficult economic climate, namely the compounding effects of austerity and subsequent funding cuts to the health and social care sector, continues to put significant strain on staff and mental health services. In addition to staff leaving, sickness absence rates are at an all-time high. March 2022, in particular, saw a record high sickness absence rate of 6.0%; this is higher than during the peak pandemic times of March-June 2020 (4.0%) and January 2021 (5.7%) (2) and a 29% rise from the 2019 rate (3).
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Burnout and mental wellbeing among NHS mental health staff in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: to what extent did psychological resilience play a role?
By Syeda Tazrin, Bethany Croak, Neil Greenberg, Sharon Stevelink
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