New Study Finds One In Ten NHS Healthcare Workers Had Suicidal Thoughts In The Pandemic

Concerns were raised about the risk of suicide among healthcare workers during the pandemic after a number of high-profile cases were reported in the media. Researchers from UCL, the University of Bristol and King’s College London sought to investigate the prevalence and incidence of suicidal thoughts and behaviour among NHS healthcare workers in England and their relationship with occupational risk factors.

The team analysed responses from the NHS CHECK longitudinal online surveys completed by 22,501 healthcare workers (clinical and non-clinical), students, and volunteers in 18 NHS Trusts across England during the Covid-19 pandemic. Responses were completed at two time points six months apart between April 2020 and August 2021.

Results, published in PLOS ONE, highlighted that exposure to events that went against moral values, a lack of confidence about raising safety concerns, and these concerns being addressed, feeling unsupported by managers, and having to provide a reduced standard of care, significantly contributed to staff distress during the pandemic.

At the second six-month time point among clinicians, a lack of confidence about safety concerns being addressed independently predicted suicidal thoughts.

Co-lead author Dr Danielle Lamb (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said: “Our findings show a concerning number of healthcare workers experience suicidal and self-harm thoughts and behaviours. We identified several workplace risk factors such as feeling unsupported by managers, lack of confidence about raising safety concerns, and exposure to potentially morally injurious situations.

“Senior leaders should consider how they can address these systemic, structural factors, and hopefully reduce the number of staff who experience negative impacts on their mental health.”

Co-lead author Dr Prianka Padmanathan, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bristol’s Centre for Academic Mental Health, said: “Our analyses show that among healthcare workers who had not experienced suicidal thoughts when first completing the survey, one in ten reported experiencing them six months later. Additionally, almost one in 25 staff reported having attempted suicide for the first time.

“These findings highlight the scale of mental health issues across the NHS at a time of unprecedented concern. Improvements in mental health support and addressing structural issues around workforce and resources might significantly reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviour among health care workers.”

Co-author Professor Simon Wessely, from King’s College London, said: “Let’s not forget that having a job is usually better for our mental health than not having a job. But sometimes the nature of the job can increase stress and strain on the individual. In these cases this work reminds us that the best source of support to maintain your health and well-being are not mental health professionals or the people in charge of your organisation. It is the person next above you- your immediate supervisor, manager or report, and the people around you – your friends, family and colleagues.”

The study was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), Wellcome, Rosetrees Trust, Economic and Social Research Council [ESRC] and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, King’s College London and NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response at King’s College London.