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To counteract the trauma healthcare professionals have faced from dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the NHS has established 40 new mental health hubs to receive incoming calls from frontline workers and directly contact those considered high risk.

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Since the beginning of the virus outbreak, hundreds of doctors, nurses, and other clinical staff were reported to be experiencing a form of mental health struggle. With one in five NHS nurses operating in the ICU contemplating suicide or self-harm, declared in a report last year investigating the issue.

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The strive to deliver a more efficient form of mental health support throughout the United Kingdom has become more apparent than ever, with the recent reform act and now the opening of the hubs which will allow NHS professionals to contact in need of advice and counselling.

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For those who do decide to call, will be redirected to either a psychologist, a mental health nurse, a therapist, or a recovery worker.

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These new mental health support hubs were based on The Greater Manchester Resilience Hub, a previously established facility opened in wake of the Manchester terrorist attack in 2017, offering one-to-ones to those affected. During the coronavirus pandemic, the Manchester hub has been providing services to NHS staff working and has assisted over 4,200 health and social care staff so far in doing so.

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Higher risk groups will be contacted directly as opposed to waiting for them to reach out, this will most likely include workers in ICU, A&E, and COVID19 wards.

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Claire Murdoch, the NHS National Mental Health Director, spoke about the on-going difficulties staff are facing against the coronavirus. She said, “NHS staff are used to dealing with the extremes of life on a daily basis, but this year has been exceptional, and in what is likely to be the toughest year in their career, staff have put their minds and bodies to the limit treating hundreds of thousands of seriously ill-patients with Covid-19.”

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Continuing on to how these hubs will help, she stated "So it is vital that the people that played such a big role getting this country through the pandemic are given additional support, and I would urge anyone working in the NHS whether you are a porter, a nurse, paramedic or other role to please ask for help from one of our 40 mental health support hubs as they open over the coming weeks."

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If you are ​struggling to cope with the issues right now, you can visit: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline

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