Free counselling service for NHS and front-line workers marks milestone in fight against suicide and calls on government to do more to protect NHS workers’ mental health
Frontline19, a non-profit organisation founded in 2020 by psychotherapist Claire Goodwin-Fee has marked today’s World Suicide Prevention Day by announcing that it has now provided more than a million NHS and front-line workers with free, confidential counselling and psychological support as part of its work to reduce stigma and save lives from suicide.
The organisation was created during the coronavirus pandemic, initially aiming to help around fifty health workers, but now supports around nine thousand people each week to deal with the trauma, stress and burnout burgeoning among over-worked NHS staff since the pandemic. Recent statistics reveal that one in three NHS workers experience poor mental health and a quarter have considered suicide.
This year’s World Suicide Prevention Day theme is “Changing the narrative on suicide and creating time to talk,” which the organisation says aligns with its mission to provide a confidential, non-judgmental space and to combat the stigma that too often surrounds mental health, particularly among NHS workers, and inhibits those in crisis from reaching out for help. This contributes to the tragic loss of lives that could have been saved.
Frontline19 has today called on government agencies, healthcare organisations and the public to support efforts to reduce stigma and to provide adequate mental health resources for all NHS staff. The organisation says it remains committed to increasing awareness and advocating for better support for workers within the healthcare sector with a commitment to promoting an open dialogue on suicide prevention, and that it has proven that targeted, accessible, and confidential counselling can make a life-or-death difference. However, the huge scale of the need requires far more resources.
Frontline19 founder and CEO Psychotherapist, Claire Goodwin-Fee said:
Our frontline workers have been under huge pressure with services understaffed for years now. They work tirelessly to support us—we must do the same for them. Ending the stigma around mental health and suicide is crucial. A change in culture to promote education, openness, empathy and support will save lives and ensure that no one ever feels they are alone. Frontline roles will always include traumatic situations so we must ensure that this also includes adequate support for workers.
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In a country where people are given/offered counselling for so much as missing out on a ticket to some shite band, or not getting the latest mobile phone on the day of it’s release, it’s absolutely criminal that there aren’t the same resources available to those who spend their days elbow-deep in blood, puke, snot, piss and shite – only to have to go to a fucking foodbank in order to keep themselves alive.
All the while while there cunts who’ve never so much as changed a shitty nappy – I’m talking about YOU, rees-smogg, telling us we ought to suck it up… because were British.
And the rest of these privileged, patronising, Westminster careerist fuckers pretending they give a shite about the HARDworking (Not just ‘working’ because that isn’t patronising enough) people who are ‘doing the right thing’ while they bleed us white and get themselves fatter in doing so.
This is the state of Britain in 2024. It’s about time those bastards went on a strict diet and were made to shed a few pounds(sterling) for the health of the nation.