The Prince of Wales has suggested that NHS staff should be given “enforced breaks” in their careers for the sake of their mental health to help prevent burnout. The Telegraph has more
The Prince, visiting a hospital in Berkshire, spoke of his concern that front-line medical staff were putting their mental health needs aside for the greater good.
Telling doctors and nurses that he knew “everyone in the NHS is there to care for others”, he observed that too often “the last person who gets looked after is the individual”.
The Prince Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Oasis Health and Wellbeing Centre and garden was set up for staff with funding from NHS Charities Together in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Staff at the hospital cared for the first UK patient to die after testing positive for COVID-19, a woman in her 70s, exactly five years ago to the day since Prince William’s visit.
“Everyone in the NHS is there to care for others, so the last person who gets looked after is the individual,” he said, in conversation with staff and volunteers.
“I’ve seen when I’ve worked with doctors and nurses, when I’ve worked with paramedics, they always put it down the line because they don’t want to put their workload on someone else.
“For me, looking into the nation’s mental health over the last few years, unless there’s almost enforced breaks in someone’s career, as part of your career development, we’re never going to get to that point where you can look after their mental health, because you always rely on the individual to put their hand up.”
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