Some U.K. Health Workers Are 'Sicker Than the Patients'

Body aches, exhaustion, palpitations, self-harm and anxiety are symptoms one might expect to encounter in medical settings.

But, surely, not among doctors, nurses and other staff.

Yet, half of all processionals in the U.K.’s National Health Service report suffering from poor mental health and related maladies. Charity Frontline19 captures this sad reality in an unsettling initiative developed with adam&eveDDB.

Actors appear in the film below. The scenes are based on actual CCTV footage.

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, we heard a lot about supporting care workers. But such messaging has largely vanished over the past few years. That makes raising awareness—and getting these folks help—more crucial than ever.

“It’s all too easy to forget that those looking after us need looking after too,” says a&eDDB ECD Ant Nelson. “Our campaign highlights the vital support provided by Frontline19 and the need for this to be available to those NHS workers.”

Frontline founder and CEO Claire Goodwin-Fee adds: “The facts speak for themselves: Last year, 6.2 million sick days were taken by NHS workers citing poor mental health.”

Which means that by helping them, we help everyone. 

We want to help ourselves. Don’t we?