Up to three-quarters of NHS staff struggling with mental health

Three out of four NHS staff have experienced poor mental health in the past year, according to latest survey findings, suggesting that health service staff are facing serious mental health challenges.

The YouGov survey of 1,078 NHS staff was carried between 13-19 February on behalf of NHS Charities Together. It found that 75% of NHS staff had experienced a mental health condition in the past year.

Over half of the staff surveyed reported experiencing anxiety, while half had struggled with low mood. Exhaustion was reported by 42% while 60% were worried about their colleagues’ mental health.

“Working as a nurse is still incredibly challenging. It’s so vital that we continue to invest in NHS staff mental health”

Steph Gorman

It comes less than a month after government funding ended for a national network of mental health and wellbeing hubs that were established in 2020-21 to support NHS frontline workers during the pandemic.

The continuing need for mental health services to support NHS staff was demonstrated by a previous survey from the union Unison earlier this month, which found that almost a third of NHS staff have had to take time off work in the past year due to poor mental health.

And the latest figures from NHS England showed that a quarter (25%) of staff sickness absences in England in October 2023 were recorded as being due to mental health reasons.

More than one in 10 of the NHS staff questioned by the new charity survey said they believed pressure on NHS services was growing, while 70% said stress at work had negatively impacted their mental health in the workplace in the last year.

The survey also found that 79% of staff surveyed said they felt proud to work for the NHS, but only 68% of staff surveyed said they were unlikely to leave the NHS within the next 12 months.

Just under 70%  said that morale was the lowest they have ever experienced.

It follows a survey from the University of Bath, published last week, that found only one in four nurses would recommend a job in the NHS because of problems with poor pay and increased workload.

Stephen Jones, RCN head of nursing practice and professional lead for mental health, 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,” he said in response to the latest survey findings.

Mr Jones said that health service leaders and ministers needed to recognise that the pressures on staff were unsustainable.

He said: “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.”

Mr Jones added: “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.”

He said employers had 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”.

“Chronic workforce shortages and sky-high demand for services are driving a mental health emergency”

Stephen Jones

Steph Gorman, an intensive care nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, agreed that workforce shortages were contributing to the workplace stress that can trigger mental health problems.

She added that much of the stress came from poor staffing. “A lot of the people we’ve got working now are quite junior. They might not have the right skill mix.

“It’s nobody’s fault but it can be quite stressful,” she said. “In the past, I’ve needed to seek help and started one-to-one counselling sessions at the hospital, which was really beneficial.”

Ms Gorman added: “Working as a nurse is still incredibly challenging. It’s so vital that we continue to invest in NHS staff mental health.”

The YouGov survey was carried out on behalf of NHS Charities Together as part of its Support Goes Both Ways campaign to ensure better support for NHS staff.