Strategies to promote the emotional health of nurses and other NHS staff

The Government has recognised that NHS staff working in clinical environments must be supported emotionally. Those who deliver direct care to patients may absorb and experience some of their patients' emotions, including fear and sadness. The empathetic traits common among nurses and other care workers can negatively impact their own emotional health.

One year ago, NHS Employers launched its ‘How are you feeling today NHS?’ initiative (NHS Employers, 2019). This easy-to-use resource was designed and developed with the help of NHS staff to promote greater awareness of emotional health in frontline care workers. This tool enables nurses and others to discuss emotional health more openly and can help assess the impact emotional wellbeing has on staff members and their patients.

The past 12 months has seen society as a whole talking much more frankly about mental health, helped by the Duke of Sussex, who has led a high-profile campaign to bring mental health into the limelight (Booth, 2017).