July 6, 2021 11.01 am This story is over 31 months old

Lincolnshire nurse launches national helpline for pressured colleagues

A safe space for NHS staff to talk

By Local Democracy Reporter

A frontline nurse in Lincolnshire has created a new national helpline to help NHS staff cope with the pressures of their job, particularly heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nurse Lifeline is a registered charity devised to improve the mental wellbeing of frontline nurses, midwives, healthcare support workers and their friends or families.

The service, which is the first of its kind in the UK, was set up by Lincolnshire-based nurse Natalie Greening, along with Keira Dovey and colleagues.

29-year-old nurse and RAF reservist Natalie said that the mental pressures of her profession will not be a quick fix, but hopes the helpline can offer support to those who may need it.

She said: “Many of us were running on empty prior to the onset of the pandemic and it’s hard for people outside of the health service to understand just how debilitating the sustained emotional stress has been on health workers’ own mental wellbeing, which is why developing a peer-led service is so empowering.

“We find ourselves connected by a common experience and a shared understanding of what we’ve been through. Who is better placed than nurses and midwives at ground level to be the driving force for such a service and at the heart of implementing such?”

The helpline will be available to call between 7pm and 11pm on weekdays on 0808 8010455, and for more information you can visit the Nurse Lifeline website.