The BBC have published today that the rise in NHS employees with mental health problems has doubled since 2010. The thing is what are they going to do about it?
There is lots of info telling us that NHS funding for mental health services are being cut. 70% of patients with mental health problems don't get access to mental health services and the NHS not long ago implemented 'change day' where one of it's objectives was for it's staff to be more open about their mental health problems. Time to change launched a campaign in 2010 called 'Open your mind' and NHS change day 2014 have worked in conjunction with Time to change to deliver better recognition and help for NHS workers with mental health problems.
There is a lot of information for employees and managers to use in order to help someone with mental health issues but what is in place to help them deal with their problem?
I no longer work in the NHS and in fact due to physical and mental health problems I have given up work as a nurse. Why?
I cannot physically do 12.5 hour shifts.
I struggle with lack of sleep on nights and it interfered with taking medication.
I had to have fixed days due to court order child care arrangements, these are 'worked' around as much as possible but it's not always possible to give the nurse what he/she wants.
There was no option given to not do nights and go onto short days as they had to cover the service and if you are not up to the job then it was up to you to find another one.
When the working time directives came in I was off sick with a relapse, I received notification through the post that these were coming into force. On returning to duty I saw occupational health who said 'if you don't do the long days, you will be talking yourself out of a job'.
This sent me into a hysterical meltdown as the thought of having to do 2 long days on a row a week would floor me. I was already in a really bad place. This wasn't what I needed to hear. I later found out colleagues had been allowed to do short days due to health issues and refusal of doing long days but I had already signed up for long days by then due to what I was told by Occupational health.
I was also offered 'counselling' by Bupa. 6 hourly sessions. I was told my needs were too complex for them so should see my NHS mental health team. Trouble is I couldn't get an appointment and even though I was referred for a community mental health team they saw me and told me they would find me a nurse for support but when I asked about it, it turned out I had been discharged.
Maybe I am an extreme case, I don't know but I asked Time to Change and NHS change day what was being put in place for all these staff coming forward with mental health problems. Anything? I told them of my situation and was tweeted 'this happens all too often'. How is that helpful? What is an employee supposed to do with that when faced with working longs days they can't cope with and/or having problems/stress in life? They haven't answered me.
Time to change were just pointing towards patient experience being better but that's not what I was asking about. If mental ill health has doubled since 2010 and NHS mental health services are being cut all the time then who helps it's frontline staff cope? Where are the counsellors? Therapists? Support groups? CBT? It's all very well aknowledging you have a mental health problem but how is that going to help you?
From experience some of the nurses I worked with will tell you they cannot handle people with mental health problems or indeed colleagues with MH problems. They don't know how to talk about it so I guess thats where NHS change day helps. But what about the staff who have no interest in talking about it? Or the ones that don't even want to talk to someone with MH problems. They openly admitted that patients with MH problems wasn't their problem, just fixing the medical side of it was. I openly talked about my mental health problems, medication, self harm, and suicidal feelings but on more than one occasion was told 'it shouldn't be discussed at work or I was an 'extreme case'. My team leader once said I should keep my personal problems out of work as it wasn't the place to discuss them. Many nurses I came across belittled self harmers and addicts and openly admitted not wanting to look after them. Few were compassionate enough to do so.
I realise change takes time and I missed the boat with regards to the campaigns that were happening. I was trying to make MH more of a focus at work and tried to get a project up and running for staff but I ran out of steam due to stress at home and eventually left after a time off work.
Times have changed from a few years ago when if you were off sick, you were off sick. There is a strong focus on a staff member doing work regardless of what it is and reducing the sickness stats. There is phased return but unless you use holiday or unpaid leave you are expected to come back at your normal hours. I'm not suggesting the NHS should carry everyone but this seems like a ticking time bomb and quite clearly is a problem that needs addressing.
The NHS should surely make looking after it's staff properly a priority, not sticking a plaster over a gaping wound with no plan on how it's going to put the would back together?
There is lots of info telling us that NHS funding for mental health services are being cut. 70% of patients with mental health problems don't get access to mental health services and the NHS not long ago implemented 'change day' where one of it's objectives was for it's staff to be more open about their mental health problems. Time to change launched a campaign in 2010 called 'Open your mind' and NHS change day 2014 have worked in conjunction with Time to change to deliver better recognition and help for NHS workers with mental health problems.
There is a lot of information for employees and managers to use in order to help someone with mental health issues but what is in place to help them deal with their problem?
I no longer work in the NHS and in fact due to physical and mental health problems I have given up work as a nurse. Why?
I cannot physically do 12.5 hour shifts.
I struggle with lack of sleep on nights and it interfered with taking medication.
I had to have fixed days due to court order child care arrangements, these are 'worked' around as much as possible but it's not always possible to give the nurse what he/she wants.
There was no option given to not do nights and go onto short days as they had to cover the service and if you are not up to the job then it was up to you to find another one.
When the working time directives came in I was off sick with a relapse, I received notification through the post that these were coming into force. On returning to duty I saw occupational health who said 'if you don't do the long days, you will be talking yourself out of a job'.
This sent me into a hysterical meltdown as the thought of having to do 2 long days on a row a week would floor me. I was already in a really bad place. This wasn't what I needed to hear. I later found out colleagues had been allowed to do short days due to health issues and refusal of doing long days but I had already signed up for long days by then due to what I was told by Occupational health.
I was also offered 'counselling' by Bupa. 6 hourly sessions. I was told my needs were too complex for them so should see my NHS mental health team. Trouble is I couldn't get an appointment and even though I was referred for a community mental health team they saw me and told me they would find me a nurse for support but when I asked about it, it turned out I had been discharged.
Maybe I am an extreme case, I don't know but I asked Time to Change and NHS change day what was being put in place for all these staff coming forward with mental health problems. Anything? I told them of my situation and was tweeted 'this happens all too often'. How is that helpful? What is an employee supposed to do with that when faced with working longs days they can't cope with and/or having problems/stress in life? They haven't answered me.
Time to change were just pointing towards patient experience being better but that's not what I was asking about. If mental ill health has doubled since 2010 and NHS mental health services are being cut all the time then who helps it's frontline staff cope? Where are the counsellors? Therapists? Support groups? CBT? It's all very well aknowledging you have a mental health problem but how is that going to help you?
From experience some of the nurses I worked with will tell you they cannot handle people with mental health problems or indeed colleagues with MH problems. They don't know how to talk about it so I guess thats where NHS change day helps. But what about the staff who have no interest in talking about it? Or the ones that don't even want to talk to someone with MH problems. They openly admitted that patients with MH problems wasn't their problem, just fixing the medical side of it was. I openly talked about my mental health problems, medication, self harm, and suicidal feelings but on more than one occasion was told 'it shouldn't be discussed at work or I was an 'extreme case'. My team leader once said I should keep my personal problems out of work as it wasn't the place to discuss them. Many nurses I came across belittled self harmers and addicts and openly admitted not wanting to look after them. Few were compassionate enough to do so.
I realise change takes time and I missed the boat with regards to the campaigns that were happening. I was trying to make MH more of a focus at work and tried to get a project up and running for staff but I ran out of steam due to stress at home and eventually left after a time off work.
Times have changed from a few years ago when if you were off sick, you were off sick. There is a strong focus on a staff member doing work regardless of what it is and reducing the sickness stats. There is phased return but unless you use holiday or unpaid leave you are expected to come back at your normal hours. I'm not suggesting the NHS should carry everyone but this seems like a ticking time bomb and quite clearly is a problem that needs addressing.
The NHS should surely make looking after it's staff properly a priority, not sticking a plaster over a gaping wound with no plan on how it's going to put the would back together?
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