Responding to the NHS Charities Together finding that more than three in four NHS workers have experienced mental health issues, RCN Head of Nursing Practice and Professional Lead for Mental Health Stephen Jones said:
“These findings highlight just how demoralised and burnt out NHS workers really are. Nursing staff go to work to care for their patients but are being emotionally and physically pushed to the edge.
“Health service leaders and ministers need to recognise that the pressures on staff are unsustainable. Chronic workforce shortages and sky-high demand for services are driving a mental health emergency, whilst sustained real-terms pay cuts have exposed NHS workers to a devastating cost of living crisis. It cannot be overemphasised just how difficult it is to work in the NHS right now.
“We need more mental health support for NHS staff – but, crucially, we also need serious action to address workforce shortages, dangerous workloads and to properly lift pay. Employers have a legal duty to their staff to identify and tackle the causes of work-related stress, but governments must also stop kicking the can down the road and address the underlying causes.”
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