8 | TheCovid-19 pandemic is a global health emergency that has impacted the lives of billions of people. In theNHS, the disruption, the impact, the effect on tens of thousands of healthcareworkers has been immense. But even before the pandemic, staffwere in the darkest place, with stress, staffvacancies (therewere 100,000 in England as of December 2019) and the intention to quit at their highest ever levels. And then came the pandemic. It is vital that those on the frontline experience high quality and compassionate support so that they can deliver safe, high quality and compassionate patient care. The better the health andwell-being of staff , the safer the care they provide – and the more likely patients are to be satisfied and recover. Since the start of the pandemic, I have had the privilege of being a part of the NHS England/Improvement Covid-19 national task force for staffsupport andwell-being, and I amnowamember of the Recovery Commission, using our research at Lancaster University and others’ research to protect the well-being of frontline staff . It is a hugely challenging time for staff . They have had to face the fear of anticipating a very high intensity of work. Those in critical care have often been working for several hours wearing hot PPE equipment, unable to take a break, get a drink or go to the toilet; plus there is the fear of catching the virus yourself – the fear that everybody has, that you may ormay not surviveCovid-19 – as well as the very real fear of bringing the virus home to your families. The pressures onmost NHS and care staff have been enormous. WhileCovid-19 has presented our health servicewith unparalleled challenges, it also offers an opportunity for us to better protect themental health of NHS staffand put processes and programmes in place that recognise just how important they are to us all and to introduce compassionate leadership to unleash their collectivewisdom. During the crisis, a support website and a mental health hotline have been launched following Taskforce advice, with NHS staffreceiving support and advice for the pressures they face every day during the global health emergency. This has been an important way of offering the vital support staffneed in extreme One of the most extraordinary features of the crisis is the scale and pace of innovation ʻʻ ʼʼ
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