NHS staff should be given ‘enforced career breaks’ for their mental health, says Prince of Wales
The Prince of Wales has suggested that NHS staff should be given “enforced breaks” in their careers to help prevent burnout.
The Prince, visiting a hospital in Berkshire, spoke of his concern that front-line medical staff were putting their mental health needs aside for the greater good.
Telling doctors and nurses that he knew “everyone in the NHS is there to care for others”, he observed that too often “the last person who gets looked after is the individual”.
The Prince Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Oasis Health and Wellbeing Centre and garden was set up for staff with funding from NHS Charities Together in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Staff at the hospital cared for the first UK patient to die after testing positive for Covid-19, a woman in her 70s, exactly five years ago to the day since Prince William’s visit.
“Everyone in the NHS is there to care for others, so the last person who gets looked after is the individual,” he said, in conversation with staff and volunteers.
“I’ve seen when I’ve worked with doctors and nurses, when I’ve worked with paramedics, they always put it down the line because they don’t want to put their workload on someone else.
“For me, looking into the nation’s mental health over the last few years, unless there’s almost enforced breaks in someone’s career, as part of your career development, we’re never going to get to that point where you can look after their mental health, because you always rely on the individual to put their hand up.”
The future King, who became patron of NHS Charities Together in December 2020 along with wife Catherine, heard how staff who helped care for the first Covid-19 patients and who continued to treat people with the virus had benefited from the centre.
Among them was Sergio Tammelleo, a lead nurse, whose team has received support from its psychological service after being at the front line of the first wave of Covid-19 infections.
Mr Tammelleo appeared emotional as he told the Prince: “It’s really difficult to think about that. It’s been five years already, lots of things happened.
“I remember doing some swabs to patients back in the end of February 2020, not knowing a lot about that.”
The nurse told how he had not been able to travel back to see his family in Italy for more than two years because he was worried about passing the virus on to elderly relatives.
He added: “We still have some Covid cases around the hospital, so we still talk about it and sometimes you just stop and think about what has happened in the past.
“You know, thinking about what we did, what we have been through, and difficult times, especially for people that live alone and they were not able to see their family.”
Prince joins yoga class
In a lighter moment, the Prince was invited to join a staff yoga class taught by the Centre’s instructor Veenu Singh.
“I can’t bend,” he told her, laughing. “I will sit in a corner and talk while you’re contorting.”
“We all know when there’s a yoga class that’s when people relax and then just talk,” he added.
Apologising to the group for bringing up “difficult memories” from Covid-19, he added: “I want to pay tribute today to two members of staff who died.”
Out in the garden, the Prince paused beside a cherry tree planted in memory of Julie Edward, a nurse who worked in the hospital’s complex orthopaedic and trauma unit, and near to a maple planted in tribute to Dr Peter Tun, a consultant in neurorehabilitation. Ms Edward died in May 2020, a month after Dr Tun.
Steve McManus, the chief executive of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Having a space like this that is a lasting tribute to those two valued members of staff is very important to us.”
The Prince was then shown around the outside space, with lawn and seating area, a pond and a polytunnel for growing vegetables, which are donated to a local pantry for homeless people and others in need.
“It’s an active space that brings in the community and draws the hospital staff in with the community and [shows] the power of gardens for health and wellbeing,” said Dave Richards, Oasis Garden Project lead, who showed him the produce.
“Definitely,” agreed the Prince. “Especially with lettuces like that, it’s fantastic”.
The Prince also sat down with a group of nurses to discuss the impact of the pandemic on their work and wellbeing. He told them: “Remember you’re doing a really good job, thank you.”
The £3 million transformation of the listed building that now houses the Oasis Health and Wellbeing Centre was funded by the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust, the Royal Berkshire charity and NHS Charities Together.
The latter launched its urgent Covid-19 appeal in March 2020, raising more than £15 million within five days. It went on to raise more than £160 million to support patients, hospital staff and volunteers at the frontline of the crisis.
The funds have helped nearly two thirds of NHS workers to benefit from counselling, rest areas and community projects across the UK.
