Covid-19 inquiry: Additional psychological support for doctors would be rolled out in future pandemic, government says

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The UK government has committed to implementing a scalable psychological support programme for NHS workers in future pandemics. This follows findings from the UK Covid-19 inquiry highlighting severe mental health impacts, including PTSD and burnout among healthcare staff due to the intense pressures faced during the pandemic.

A scalable programme of additional psychological support for NHS workers will be rolled out in the event of a future pandemic, the government says. Officials made the commitment in its response to module 3 of the UK Covid-19 inquiry.1In the third phase of the national inquiry, published in March, its chair Heather Hallett said that the NHS “teetered on the brink of collapse” but was saved by the “superhuman” efforts of doctors and other healthcare staff.2 But this enormous effort came at great personal cost to healthcare workers and their families as they were obliged to work under “intolerable pressure for months on end,” Hallett said.Her report found that the mental health of healthcare staff “was severely impacted, with many exhibiting signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, while burnout was common.”One of Hallett’s recommendations was that the government should put in place plans to deliver effective support for healthcare workers at...