We are immensely proud, at The Healthcare Hub, to pledge our support to the Covid-19: Are You Ok? Campaign. This aims to highlight the potential impact on the mental health and wellbeing of nurses and other staff, due to the work involved in responding to the crisis, and to ensure formal and informal support is available to them.

This means we recognise the often-distressing nature of caring for patients with Covid-19, particularly when patients numbers are high and resources are stretched. We also recognise the potential negative impact on the mental health and wellbeing of nurses of working through the coronavirus pandemic and are committed to providing support to those who are affected. We also recognise that the effects of this work may be delayed and/or enduring and will ensure support remains available after the crisis has passed.

In supporting the campaign we pledge to:

• Provide mental health and wellbeing support to staff for as long as it is needed
• Foster a culture of mutual support, in which staff are alert to the possibility that colleagues may be experiencing problems as a result of their work during the pandemic, and ready to offer informal support such as listening and signposting to internal or external sources of formal support
• Ensure that staff who are experiencing problems know that they will receive a positive, supportive response if they disclose problems, and understand that being asked ‘Are you OK?’ is a gesture of support and care.

We have already taken steps to protect the mental health and wellbeing of our staff by:

• Providing an Onboarding and Aftercare service – we fully understand the stress and anxiety often caused by starting a new job, particularly at this distressing time, so we provide our nurses with wrap around support – from the interview stage to becoming established in their new role and beyond.
• Sending care packs to all our nurses as a token of our support and gratitude.

Staff are the heart of our organisation; they have ensured the NHS was not overwhelmed in the initial peak – often at great personal cost, and they continue to provide excellent and compassionate care to patients and their families. It is our responsibility to care for them, and to ensure that they are more than OK. Support for our nurses is essential at this time and it is critical that we hear their voice and provide appropriate support and care for them. We endeavour to do this as an organisation and the ‘Are you OK?’ Campaign supports this further.