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.