Caring for Those Who Take Care of Others: Developing Systemic and Sustainable Mental Health Support for the Diverse Healthcare Workforce in the United Kingdom
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Discussion
3. Conclusions
- Inclusion of all minoritised and underserved staff groups in key decision-making policies and dialogues at all levels within the policy eco-system.
- Increase government-led research and funding targeted at improving the communication channels and dissemination of information related to policy and guideline changes to HCWs during pandemics and other dynamic national emergencies to reduce the burden of stress and anxiety associated with poor and confusing communications.
- Continue to invest in new technologies to help enable HCWs more flexible working arrangements to facilitate and improve the mental wellbeing of staff with families and encourage the regular taking of paid breaks.
- Ensure that all NHS staff have equal and equitable access to free, flexible, and high-quality mental health services regardless of their speciality, geographical area, and/or shift time. Simultaneously also equip leaders and line-managers to support staff with wellbeing and mental health needs through trainings and resource dissemination.
- Nuanced approaches to assessing staff needs taking into consideration their intersecting social identities and positions (e.g., a female nurse who is also a single mother) are needed to tailor effective mental health interventions and initiatives.
- Maximise investments into a sustainable recruitment campaign to improve and ease workload intensities across all departments to improve the health system’s resilience and response during a future pandemic, combined with reduced post-pandemic financial costs associated with backlogged and delayed elective surgeries.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Qureshi, I.; Chaloner, J.; Gogoi, M.; Al-Oraibi, A.; Wobi, F.; Reilly, H.; Medisauskaite, A.; Martin, C.A.; Irizar, P.; Papineni, P.; et al. Caring for Those Who Take Care of Others: Developing Systemic and Sustainable Mental Health Support for the Diverse Healthcare Workforce in the United Kingdom. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 3242. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043242
Qureshi I, Chaloner J, Gogoi M, Al-Oraibi A, Wobi F, Reilly H, Medisauskaite A, Martin CA, Irizar P, Papineni P, et al. Caring for Those Who Take Care of Others: Developing Systemic and Sustainable Mental Health Support for the Diverse Healthcare Workforce in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(4):3242. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043242
Chicago/Turabian StyleQureshi, Irtiza, Jonathan Chaloner, Mayuri Gogoi, Amani Al-Oraibi, Fatimah Wobi, Holly Reilly, Asta Medisauskaite, Christopher A. Martin, Patricia Irizar, Padmasayee Papineni, and et al. 2023. "Caring for Those Who Take Care of Others: Developing Systemic and Sustainable Mental Health Support for the Diverse Healthcare Workforce in the United Kingdom" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 4: 3242. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043242
APA StyleQureshi, I., Chaloner, J., Gogoi, M., Al-Oraibi, A., Wobi, F., Reilly, H., Medisauskaite, A., Martin, C. A., Irizar, P., Papineni, P., Lagrata, S., Agbonmwandolor, J., Pareek, M., & Nellums, L. (2023). Caring for Those Who Take Care of Others: Developing Systemic and Sustainable Mental Health Support for the Diverse Healthcare Workforce in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 3242. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043242