You might be worried about COVID-19 and how it could affect your life. This may include having to stay at home and avoid other people. This might feel difficult or stressful. But there are lots of things you can try that could help your wellbeing.
This is why the NHS nationally and locally has developed a range of wellbeing support to care for, and protect all of our NHS colleagues, whether at the front line or in supporting services.
We encourage you to take immediate advantage of these services. They can be used in addition to the support available from your own NHS organisations.
Our NHS People - Supporting our people
All NHS staff have access to a range of support from the Our NHS People website:
Confidential support by phone
- General: 0800 06 96 222 (7am-11pm)
- Bereavement: 0300 303 4434 (8am-8pm)
Support by text message
- Text ‘FRONTLINE’ to 85258 – 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Wellbeing support apps
- online peer to peer, team and personal resilience support, including through Silver Cloud, and free mindfulness apps including Unmind, Horizons NHS, Headspace Sleepio and Daylight
Guides and bitesize learning
- Develop new skills and discover new ways to improve your experience of work with short 10- to 20 minute guides developed by experts.
NHS Bereavement support
NHS England and NHS Improvement have put together a suite of resources that aim to help you access support during what will be a difficult time for our staff, given the restrictions and changes to normal grieving patterns and processes for staff who come from diverse backgrounds.
NHS Every Mind Matters
Every Mind Matters is here to help you manage and maintain your mental health, as good mental health makes such a difference. It helps us to relax more, achieve more and enjoy our lives more.
Every Mind Matters gives you simple and practical advice to get a healthier mind and get more out of life – from how to deal with stress and anxiety, to boosting our mood or sleeping better. It will help you spot the signs of common mental health conditions, get personalised practical self-care tips and information on further support. You’ll also learn about what you can do to help others.
Every Mind Matters has been created by Public Health England, with tips and advice developed with experts and approved by the NHS. It has also been endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners. In January 2020, we teamed up with Heads Up for the biggest weekend in football, the Emirates FA Cup Third Round, to help you discover simple steps to look after your mental health.
It only takes a minute to get started with our short free quiz to create Your Mind Plan with personalised tips and advice.
Join a healthcare science virtual staff common room
The Staff Common Rooms are a safe and supportive environment hosted by an experienced and approved practitioner.
Download a copy of the information poster below.
STP Buddies on YouTube
STP Buddies are a collective of STP students sharing their experiences of becoming Clinical Scientists. This video talks about training in a pandemic.
e-Learning for Healthcare - Supervision of COVID-19 displaced/shielding trainees
If you have been affected by the pandemic, see if your supervisor is aware of this course from e-Learning for Healthcare.
For educational supervisors of displaced/ shielding trainees this resource aims to aid, inform and signpost supervisors to key resources as well as define what a displaced/ shielding trainee is and how to recognise if this applies to a trainee. It also aims to help supervisors understand generally how to ensure quality of training and progression while the trainee is displaced as well as how to emotionally support the trainee during their displacement.