New service offers NHS Staff mental health support during the Coronavirus pandemic

Please note: this service closed on 31st March 2023. 

For staff seeking support, please take a look at our other services, our Resources hub for helpful articles, or our Help Directory for other support options.

You can also contact the team if you have any queries.

A new mental health service has been launched, offering telephone support to all NHS and care staff in Suffolk and North East Essex during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Suffolk and North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Groups together with independent mental health charities Suffolk Mind and Mid and North East Essex Mind, have come together to open this dedicated telephone support service. The teams will offer help and practical solutions during this challenging period. Counselling will also be offered to those who need extra support through Suffolk or Mid and North East Essex Minds depending on their location.

Staff will be able to access the service whether they are based in a hospital, GP surgery or in the community setting, as well as those who work in care, voluntary sector organisations and Hospices within Suffolk and North East Essex.

Suffolk Mind have also been commissioned to provide online support to NHS and care staff during the pandemic. Qualified emotional needs trainers will be hosting interactive group sessions using the Emotional Needs and Resources approach. ‘Meeting Emotional Needs in Practice’ and ‘Keeping Calm (Mindful Breathing)’ sessions will support people to enable them to maintain their own emotional health by reducing stress.

Jon Neal, Chief Executive of Suffolk Mind said: “We’re proud and honoured to be in a position to support NHS workers in our area – whether frontline or those, like many of us, getting to grips with a new way of working.

“Whatever role people are playing in the health system, they are crucial to tackling the pandemic, keeping people safe, and ensuring we provide the best care possible to those who need it.

“At Suffolk Mind we will do all we can to enable people to be aware of their emotional needs and how to get them met in order to avoid stress.”

Lisa Llewelyn, Director of Workforce for the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System said ‘We know our health and care staff are providing tremendous support, not just to the patients they’re treating, but to each other, across the health service. As the pandemic continues, our workforce will face new and growing challenges on a daily basis, and it’s therefore more important than ever that all our NHS and Care staff are able to access the support service we have developed with our partners Mind, to help them manage their wellbeing, in a way that suits their needs.