LONDON, UK — The number of frontline workers seeking help with potentially suicidal thoughts has increased by over 70% in the last year, the Laura Hyde Foundation (LHF), the UK’s leading mental health charity for emergency service workers, has announced.
Disturbing new statistics show rising numbers of nurses, doctors, paramedics, midwives, police officers, and firefighters are now seeking help. In the first half of 2022, 946 contacted the Laura Hyde Foundation for support linked to suicidal thoughts. That’s compared to 556 people in the first half of 2021, a leap of 70%. The charity, set up in memory of Navy nurse Laura Hyde, said more than 220 nurses attempted to end their lives during the first year of Covid-19 in 2020.
In a bid to raise awareness, the charity has collaborated on a new video that shines a light on the issue. The Laura Hyde Foundation collaborated with the creative agency McCann Health and production company Jelly to make its new animated film, “The Feelings.”
“The Feelings” aims to raise awareness of the serious difficulties that medical and emergency workers face, and how this can affect them day-to-day if they don’t seek support. Each of the characters represents some of the actual feelings that workers from the healthcare frontline have been experiencing, including rising dread,” “red rage,” and “powerless.”
The Laura Hyde Foundation said it is particularly concerning these issues could become even more pressing due to the impact the cost of living crisis could have on many in the sector, who are already struggling to cope in the aftermath of the pandemic. On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, the charity issued an appeal to Prime Minister Liz Truss and Health Secretary Therese Coffey to act in this area.
Laura Hyde Foundation Chairman Liam Barnes said, “These deeply alarming figures expose what we have been growing increasingly concerned about at the Laura Hyde Foundation over recent months.
“And that’s the fact that our healthcare and emergency services are still facing a pandemic. This time however it isn’t Covid-19, it is the state of mental health and well-being of the workforce. We are yet to see the true effects of burnout, PTSD, and many more conditions as a result of this testing time. Plus we now have a cost of living crisis which will only add to the burden many of our frontline workers will face.
“That’s why it is critically important that the new Prime Minister and her new Health Secretary put providing mental health support to emergency workers at the very top of their agenda. Sadly, the topic of mental health specifically for healthcare workers remains riddled with stigma. This simply has to end.”
Liam said there has been a sharp rise in the number of people contacting the LHF seeking support this year. The charity says the number of people contacting them in the first half of 2022 was up 39% on the level seen in the first half of 2021.
Nurses, midwives, medical students, and hospital doctors contacted the charities in the greatest numbers. Of those who reached out more, 54% said they needed support for suicidal thinking or activity. 77% of the contacts the Laura Hyde Foundation received were from frontline staff aged 40 or under.
By anonymously characterizing these feelings, LHF hopes it will help frontline workers and beyond recognize the warning signs of mental health issues and seek support. The animation, which focuses on supporting emergency workers, has already won industry praise for its impact. The LHF is sharing and promoting “The Feelings” to help support those in need around Suicide Prevention Day.
