NHS staff could be left broken but loath to seek help, warns William
THE DUKE of Cambridge has warned that Covid-19 could leave a legacy of “broken NHS staff” who felt they could not reach out for help.
William said front-line doctors, nurses and other workers battling the pandemic had rightly been hailed as heroes for their efforts.
But he urged caution, saying such praise could alienate some who may feel they “have to be this pillar of strength” and could not ask for help to support their mental health.
The Duke has spent recent weeks holding video calls with hospital staff, care workers and others on the front line and said he was concerned certain staff were still finding it difficult to talk about their problems.
In a video clip, shown on the BBC’s One Show, the Duke said:
“We made the NHS front-line staff, rightly, heroes.
“But in doing so, we once again give them the burden we gave our soldiers fighting in the war, where everyone was so grateful and wanted to show their appreciation as to their fighting for their freedoms and everything.
“And I think we’ve got to be very careful with the language we use.
“They should rightly be hailed as superstars and brave and wonderful staff – but I’m very conscious from a mental-health point of view that we don’t alienate some of them.
“Where they feel that once they have this hero tag they can no longer shake that and therefore they can’t ask for support. They have to be this strong pillar of strength, when in actual fact what we need them to be is examples of positive mental health.”
William and Kate have pledged to make supporting the mental health of front-line workers battling coronavirus their top priority.
The couple’s Royal Foundation is backing the Our Frontline initiative, which provides roundthe-clock support to workers, from teachers and nurses to bus drivers.