COVID-19 stress among front-liners continues to build around the world. In UK, more than 4 in 10 from a survey of 600,000 NHS workers staff had reported being made ill with stress in the past year.
NHS England provided services to its staff including confidential support line, specialist bereavement support and a library of mental health apps. Of these services, NHS staff have accessed 780,000 times since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Specifically, well-being apps were made available to NHS staff for free – which have been downloaded by 150,000 workers.
Recently, UK government announced a recovery plan £500 million funding. Of which, £10 million will be invested to support the mental health of the NHS workforce, such as a dedicated confidential staff support line operated by the Samaritans, and a £15 million investment to strengthen mental health support for NHS staff during the next COVID-19 wave.