Health workers and activists on the brink

Delegates at UNISON’s health conference in Bournemouth this week shared harrowing experiences of how they and their fellow members are suffering the mental toll of their duties and workplace experiences, through and beyond the pandemic. The persistent theme was of a workforce hellbent on protecting the public – and, in the case of activists, protecting their fellow members – while paying the price in their own deteriorating health and wellbeing. Martin McKay, of Scotland region, summed up a health crisis within the health service, when he said: “Everyone in this room is carrying the trauma of the last three years. It’s important we learn from that shared experience.” Numerous motions charted the different mental health pressures that UNISON health members are under. A familiar one was on ambulance staff, who delegates heard were experiencing “unrelenting stress”, not just from the increasing pressure caused by underfunding and the longest waiting times ever recorded, but also the frustration felt by crews “who want to do their very best for patients, but cannot because it is out of their control.” One member spoke of “the devastating affect on staff on the ground. Mental health is through the floor.” The result is work-related anxiety spilling over to the rest of their lives and record numbers of ambulance staff leaving the service. As Jo Fowles (above) of South West Ambulance branch put it: “The escalating pressure is taking a terrible toll on many...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: News 2023 National Health Conference mental health Source Type: news