NURSES are under “intolerable stress” and increasingly experience suicidal thoughts, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) reveals in a report published today.
The union said that it was approached every day by nurses seeking help and that numbers doing so had increased by 54 per cent over the last two years, with workplace pressure given as a key factor.
The RCN is calling for funding for the provision of mental health advice for nursing staff at every health trust.
“In just two years, the RCN has gone from being contacted by seven RCN members in crisis a month in April 2022 to being contacted every single day by [30] nursing staff seeking support in April 2024,” the RCN said.
Research into the problem was carried out by an independent commission on behalf of the union.
RCN acting general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “It should be a moment of great shame that nursing staff are being pushed so hard at work that they feel suicidal.
“Ministers and health leaders have allowed this mental health crisis to grow. They have serious questions to answer.”
The NHS has more than 40,000 nursing vacancies.
Prof Ranger added: “Widespread workforce shortages and high demand for services have left nursing staff sacrificing their own welfare to care for patients.
“Intolerable levels of stress have become the norm, rather than the exception. It is unacceptable.”
She accused successive governments and health leaders of “not paying attention” and said: “The time to act is now.”
Hannah Cadogan, a member of the RCN suicide prevention steering group, said: “Back in 2007, when I was first sectioned under the Mental Health Act as a nurse with suicidal ideation, my experience was that not many people were open about mental health difficulties and certainly not in the world of nursing, which was extremely isolating.
“The fact that nurses are contacting the RCN to share how they are really feeling is for me a step forward, but this information needs to be acted on, so that nurses are adequately supported with understanding. They can then, hopefully, continue to compassionately care for their patients effectively.”
