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Showing results for tags 'Stress'.
Found 162 results
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Content ArticleThe occupational therapy (OT) workforce is under huge pressure. Increased demand coupled with workforce shortages is challenging OTs’ capacity to provide essential support to people whose lives are impacted by long term health conditions and disability. In November 2022, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists surveyed OT practitioners across the UK about the workplace issues they’re facing now, and how these affect the services they deliver to the public. They also asked how practitioners are impacted personally, including whether they intend to continue working as OTs. The challenges shared by over 2,600 respondents have significant implications for the resilience of the current and future OT workforce, and the people who use OT services.
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Content ArticleTechnologies to assist with diabetes treatment and care have evolved rapidly over the past two decades. With each new innovation coming to the market, there are hopes that technologies will solve the numerous, complex issues related to diabetes. However, although it has been demonstrated that overall, these technologies—when available—bring major benefits to people living with diabetes, they do not make the condition disappear. This article in Diabetes Epidemiology and Management discusses the interconnections between technologies and diabetes distress, an often under-acknowledged consequence of the continuous demands of diabetes.
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Content ArticleA just and learning culture is the balance of fairness, justice, learning–and taking responsibility for actions. It is not about seeking to blame the individuals involved when care in the NHS goes wrong, nor the absence of responsibility and accountability. This report by NHS Resolution aims to promote the value of a person-centred workplace that is compassionate, safe and fair.
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Content ArticleIn this blog, Jennifer Nelson investigates why doctors have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession. She speaks to experts including health psychologist Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt, who highlights that doctors tend to have a lower level of cognitive flexibility, which may affect their ability to cope when things don't go to plan. Psychotherapist Brad Fern goes on to describe the complex range of reasons that doctors may take their own lives, and describes the importance of tackling silence and isolation among doctors. The blog concludes by addressing the need to separate suicide from other wellbeing issues doctors might face, and by looking at how the system itself contributes to high suicide rates.
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Content ArticleGPs in the UK are under extreme strain and public satisfaction with general practice has plummeted. Pressures on general practice are not unique to the UK and GPs around the world are contending with the impact of the pandemic on their patients and working lives. The 2022 Commonwealth Fund survey compares perspectives from GPs across 10 high‑income countries. The survey asked GPs’ views about their working lives and wellbeing, quality of care and how services are delivered. The Health Foundation analysed the survey data to understand the experiences of GPs in the UK and how they compare to other countries.
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Content ArticleThis article in the journal Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for the Clinician looks at the importance of recognising and addressing human factors in surgery. It explores human factors in the context of optimising individual performance, enhancing team working to improve patient safety, and creating better working lives for healthcare professionals across surgery and medicine.
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Content ArticleThis practical advice and guidance from the Association of Anaesthetists aims to help anaesthetists and other healthcare staff to look after their mental wellbeing. It covers the following topics: Achieving a work/life balance Using mindfulness Managing stress Coping with death Dealing with bullying Guidelines to help anaesthetists at risk of suicide
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News Article
Fear and trauma - the long waits for cancer care
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
There has been a sharp rise in long waits for cancer therapy in the past four years, BBC analysis shows. The number waiting more than the 62-day target time for therapy in the past year has topped 67,000 across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland - twice as many as the same period in 2017-18. Waits are also getting worse in Wales, but data does not go that far back. The national cancer director for the NHS in England said staff were striving to catch up on the backlog of care, but experts warned the problems could be putting patients at risk. Steven McIntosh, of Macmillan Cancer Support, told the BBC that the delays were "traumatic" and people were living "day-by-day with fear and anxiety". He said the situation was "unacceptable" and could even be having an impact on the chances of survival. Describing the NHS as "chronically short-staffed", he said: "The NHS doesn't have the staff it needs to diagnose cancer, to deliver surgery and treatment, to provide care, support and rehabilitation." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 November 2022 -
News ArticleIn April, when the coronavirus outbreak was at its peak in the UK and tearing through hospitals, junior doctor Rebecca Thornton’s mental health took a turn for the worse and she ended up having to be sectioned. Even now, three months later, she cannot face going back to her job and thinks it will take her a year to recover from some of the horrors she saw while working on a Covid ward in a deprived area of London. “It was horrendous,” Thornton recalls. “It’s so harrowing to watch people die, day in, day out. Every time someone passed away, I’d say, ‘This is my fault’. Eventually I stopped eating and sleeping.” Thornton’s case may sound extreme but her experiences of working through Covid are far from unique. More than 1,000 doctors plan to quit the NHS over the government’s handling of the pandemic, according to a recent survey, with some citing burnout as a cause. A psychologist offering services to NHS staff throughout the UK, who asked to remain anonymous, has witnessed the toll on staff. “I’ve seen signs of PTSD in some healthcare workers,” she says. “Staff really stood up to the plate and worked incredibly hard. It was a crisis situation that moved very quickly ... After it subsided a little bit, the tiredness became very clear.” Roisin Fitzsimons, who is head of the Nightingale Academy, which provides a platform to share best practice in nursing and midwifery, and consultant nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust, also worries about the looming threat of an uncertain future. “Are our staff prepared? Do they have the resilience to go through this again? That’s the worry and that’s the unknown. Burnout is hitting people now. People are processing and realising what they’ve gone through.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 September 2020
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News ArticleOver 1,000 doctors plan to quit the NHS because they are disillusioned with the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and frustrated about their pay, a new survey has found. The doctors either intend to move abroad, take a career break, switch to private hospitals or resign to work as locums instead, amid growing concern about mental health and stress levels in the profession. “NHS doctors have come out of this pandemic battered, bruised and burned out”, said Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, president of the Doctors’ Association UK, which undertook the research. The large number of medics who say they will leave the NHS within three years is “a shocking indictment of the government’s failure to value our nation’s doctors,” she added. “These are dedicated professionals who have put their lives on the line time and time again to keep patients in the NHS safe, and we could be about to lose them.
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News ArticleWomen working in the NHS are suffering from serious stress and exhaustion in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, a troubling new report has found. Some 75% of NHS workers are women and the nursing sector is predominantly made up of women – with 9 out of 10 nurses in the UK being female. The report, conducted by the NHS Confederation’s Health and Care Women Leaders Network, warns the NHS is at risk of losing female staff due to them experiencing mental burnout during the global pandemic. Researchers, who polled more than 1,300 women working across health and care in England, found almost three quarters reported their job had a more damaging impact than usual on their emotional wellbeing due to the COVID-19 emergency. Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 August 2020
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News Article
Mental health leave for paramedics in England nearly triples since 2011
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of paramedics taking time off with mental health conditions has almost tripled over the last decade, a Guardian analysis has found. In 2019, paramedics took 52,040 days off due to anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses, up from 18,184 in 2011 – an increase of 186%. While the overall number of paramedics has increased slightly over the period, the rate of mental health leave has increased more, resulting in the average number of days taken off per paramedic in a year rising from 2.8 to 5.8. Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, said: “Crisis-level staffing has increasingly become the norm within the NHS in recent years, even before the pandemic. Working long hours without breaks, in demanding conditions, it’s no wonder it’s taken a toll on the mental health of workers across the health service. And the coronavirus challenges have piled on more pressure.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 July 2020 -
News ArticlePregnancy support helplines are experiencing a massive spike in distressed pregnant women asking for urgent help as charities warn coronavirus upheaval is placing pregnant women at risk. Frontline service providers warn mothers-to-be are anxious about whether they will be denied pain relief options and be separated from their newborn babies due to them being put in neonatal units. Birthrights, a maternity care charity, found enquiries to its advice line in March were up by 464 per cent in comparison to March last year. Women getting in touch also raised concerns about home birth services being withdrawn, midwifery-led birth centres shutting their doors and elective caesareans being discontinued due to the COVID-19 crisis. Baby charity Tommy’s experienced a 71% surge in demand for advice from midwives on its pregnancy helpline last month. The organisation warned coronavirus turmoil is placing pregnant women at risk after their midwives answered 514 urgent calls for help in April which is a sizeable rise from the 300 enquiries they would generally get. Jane Brewin, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Antenatal care is vital for the wellbeing of mother and baby – but the coronavirus outbreak means that many don’t know who they can ask for help, or don’t want to bother our busy and beloved NHS." “Although services are adapting, they are still running, so pregnant women should not hesitate to raise concerns with their midwife and go to appointments when invited. The large increase in people contacting us demonstrates that coronavirus is creating extra confusion and anxiety for parents-to-be, making midwives’ expert advice and support even more important at this time.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 5 May 2020
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News ArticleJust 1 in 4 UK GPs are satisfied with time they are able to spend with patients – appointment times are among the shortest of 11 countries surveyed. A report published today by the Health Foundation paints a picture of high stress and low satisfaction with workload among UK GPs. The report is an analysis of an international survey of GPs from 11 high-income countries, including 1,001 UK GPs, undertaken by the Commonwealth Fund in 2019. Among 11 high-income countries included in the study, only France has lower levels of overall satisfaction with practising medicine, and only Sweden reported higher levels of stress. Over half of UK GPs (60%) say they find their job 'extremely' or 'very' stressful, and almost half (49%) plan to reduce their weekly hours in the next three years. UK GPs also reported significantly shorter appointment lengths than their international colleagues. The average length of a GP appointment in the UK is 11 minutes, compared with a 19 minute average appointment for GP and primary care physicians in the other countries surveyed. Dr Rebecca Fisher, one of the Health Foundation report's authors and a practising GP, says: "These findings illustrate the pressures faced by general practice, and the strain that GPs are under. Right now the health system is in unprecedented territory and mobilising to meet the challenge of Covid-19. This survey shows that over the long term we need concerted action to stabilise general practice. Despite performing strongly in some aspects of care, many GPs consider that appointments are simply too short to fully meet the needs of patients. Too many GPs are highly stressed and overburdened – to the point of wanting to leave the profession altogether." Read full story Source: The Health Foundation, 5 March 2020
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News Article
Harrowing stories of burned out NHS doctors bullied and broken
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Dedicated to caring for the sick and vulnerable, junior doctors should expect to be supported and valued as they carry out their vital work. However, hundreds have revealed they are subjected to bullying and harassment at overstretched hospitals that have been plunged into a staffing crisis by a decade of savage health cuts. A Mirror investigation uncovered harrowing stories of young medics being denied drinking water during gruelling shifts, working for 15 hours on their feet non-stop and of uncaring managers tearing into them for breaking down in tears over the deaths of patients. One was even accused of “stealing” surgical scrubs she took to wear after suffering a miscarriage at work. The distraught woman finished her shift wearing blood-soaked trousers, instead of going home to rest. Doctors are now quitting in their droves, leaving those left struggling to cope with a growing workload. The Mirror investigation reveals the reality of working for an NHS which has been subject to a record funding squeeze and is 8,000 medics short. Health chiefs vowed to investigate the Mirror’s evidence from 602 testimonials submitted to the lobbying group Doctors Association UK. Chairman Dr Rinesh Parmar said: “These heartbreaking stories from across the country show the extent of bullying and harassment that frontline doctors face whilst working to care for patients". Read full story Source: The Mirror, 12 February 2020 -
News Article
GP shortages cause 'unacceptable' patient waits
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Family doctors are under intense pressure and general practice is running on empty, warns the Royal College of GPs (RCGP). It says severe staff shortages are causing "unacceptable" delays for patients in England. In a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, its chairman says ministers must take urgent action to deal with the lack of GPs. The government said it had recruited a "record number" of GP trainees. Ministers are committed to recruiting 6,000 more GPs in England by 2025. Prof Martin Marshall, who took over as RCGP chairman in November, says GPs are struggling with an escalating workload, which is causing many to burn out and leave the profession. Dr Andrew Dharman, who works at the The Avenue surgery in Ealing, said the stress has got worse because of the enormous workload placed on GPs. He said: "Sometimes it feels like you're drowning. You know you're trying to stay afloat and on top of all the workload. And you're trying to make sure you're providing the kind of care that you envisage when you go to medical school." "You feel frustrated sometimes that you can't necessarily do that because of the amount of work and patients." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 January 2020 -
Content ArticleEmployees—physicians and fast-food workers, teachers and hotel staff—are resigning in unprecedented numbers, often in distress. Managers are at a loss for how to respond. Attempts to address employee dissatisfaction and burnout with bonuses, mindfulness, and extra time off do not seem to be working well enough; employees continue to quit, sometimes angrily and dramatically, airing a range of grievances on social media. But what if the problem we typically call “burnout” is not just burnout? What if it is not the other “usual suspects”—depression or anxiety—either? What if it is something that may appear similar, but has a different cause and, if incorrectly addressed, can make individuals feel increasingly worse? Appropriately dealing with the epidemic of employee anguish and quitting requires correctly identifying its causes and using precise terminology to describe it. And while burnout is by far the most popular explanation of employee distress, in many cases, the problem might be a less known, but more insidious: moral injury.
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Content ArticleThis Joint Committee International handbook offers checklists for healthcare staff to keep themselves safe from chemical and physical hazards, infectious agents, workplace violence, ergonomic problems, work-related stress, and more. The book also includes managers’ checklists to ensure that the right administrative controls and processes are in place to safeguard health care staff. All checklists are based on authoritative, evidence-based sources that have proven valuable. All the checklists are straightforward and easy to use and understand and cover the key areas of risk for health care workers. Each section of checklists is introduced by compelling statistics that show how dangerous working in the healthcare environment can be, without proper precautions. The checklists provide the procedures or must-do activities to ensure that health care workers are as safe as can be.
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Content ArticleSession recordings from the ISQua 'Hospital Workers' Wellbeing Matters' conference.
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Content Article
Working under pressure: Performance infographics
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Good practice
Core Cognition have produced some helpful infographics for staff working under pressure, including fatigue and cognitive performance, cognitive biases and diagnostic error and8 tools to improve communication under pressure, -
Content ArticleThe purpose of this study from Roberts et al. was to explore anxiety, worry, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in parents of children with food allergies, and to evaluate whether these three psychological outcomes could be predicted by allergy severity, intolerance of uncertainty, and food allergy self-efficacy. The study highlights the need for greater awareness of mental health in parents of children with food allergy.
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Content ArticleEverybody responds differently to the stresses and strains of modern life. We all need and, to a degree, thrive on pressure: it gives us energy, helps with performance and inspires confidence. But excessive pressure can lead to stress. Stress may become a problem when someone feels they don’t have the resources to cope with the demands placed upon them. Harmful levels of stress can lead to a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. This booklet from the Devon Partnership NHS Trust aims to give you some very practical information and guidance – and provides spaces for you to make notes so you can make it work for you.
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Content ArticleThe COVID-19 pandemic is placing unprecedented pressure on a nursing workforce that is already under considerable mental strain due to an overloaded system. Convergent evidence from the current and previous pandemics indicates that nurses experience the highest levels of psychological distress compared with other health professionals. Nurse leaders face particular challenges in mitigating risk and supporting nursing staff to negotiate moral distress and fatigue during large-scale, sustained crises. This paper from Sriharan et al. aims to (1) synthesise existing literature on COVID-19-related burnout and moral distress among nurses and (2) identify recommendations for nurse leaders to support the psychological needs of nursing staff.
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Content ArticleThis report produced by the American Medical Association details action steps that can be taken by an organisation before, during and after a crisis to reduce psychosocial trauma among healthcare workers.
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Content ArticleThis list, produced by the Health and Safety Executive, bullet points the job, person and organisation factors that influence human performance.
