A NEW campaign has been set up to raise support for health workers suffering poor mental health after the NHS threatened to axe crucial services.

The NHS said last week that it would withdraw its Practitioner Health Programme (PHP), a confidential self-referral service for mental health support for secondary care staff at hospitals and community health teams.

Frontline19, a non-profit which provides free counselling and support to front-line NHS workers, anticipates that the closure will ignite a surge in demand for its service. Its volunteer counsellors currently support about 9,000 people.

Frontline19 launched a campaign video, Sicker Than the Patients, which shows simulated CCTV footage of staff breaking down at work, to expose the NHS mental health crisis and raise donations.

On the day of the launch, the NHS announced that they will extend PHP for 12 months.

But mental health services remain stretched — according to the British Psychological Society, half of the mental health hubs established to support hospital staff have been closed following cuts.

Frontline19 founder Claire Goodwin-Fee said: “There is an urgent need for NHS staff to access our counselling, support and training to help them better deal with the trauma they face every day on the front line.

“Front-line health professionals are suffering both the effects of the pandemic and the consequences of understaffing and daily pressures of an NHS crisis, and we know what a profound effect this is having on their mental health.”

A survey by Unison, the largest NHS union, found that almost one in three NHS employees have had to take time off work due to poor mental health in the past year.