NHS staff suicide fears after long Christmas and New Year shifts take 'serious toll'
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NHS staff working long shifts over the festive period "miss precious time with loved ones which can take a serious toll", experts have warned. Counsellors for NHS workers going through crisis warn about “long, emotionally and physically demanding shifts” as one in three report poor mental health. It comes as Christmas and New Year shifts can be some of the most demanding after NHS leaders warned hospitals are coming under unprecedented pressure this winter.
Medics tell the Mirror an on-call shift for a doctor can be 14 hours while many nurses end up working over their shift time unpaid because wards are too short staffed for prompt handovers to take place. It comes as one in three NHS workers experience poor mental health and one in four of these have considered suicide.
Not-for-profit organisation Frontline19 is calling for volunteers to help care for our carers. Psychotherapist Claire Goodwin-Fee, Frontline's founder, said: "Working on the frontline of the NHS is now almost impossible all year round, but it’s this time of year with the added pressure of increased staff sickness and seasonal viruses that these pressures are felt most keenly of all. The holiday season can be difficult for many people, but for NHS staff, the emotional, financial, and logistical strains are magnified.
“Long, emotionally and physically demanding shifts, being unable to provide the level of care they aspire to and missing precious time with loved ones take a serious toll.”. Earlier this year a huge survey of NHS staff by the union Unison showed nearly one in three had taken time off work with mental health issues in the previous year. Panic attacks, high blood pressure, chest pains and headaches were among the physical signs of stress reported by some of the 12,200 nurses, porters, 999 call handlers and other NHS staff who completed the survey. The survey also suggested that staff had been shown pornographic images, offered money for sex and assaulted at work.
