The problem is that for many years society has made us believe that having ups and downs in your mental health is a sign of weakness. Before I used to hide my problems, my anxieties, I did not share my doubts. I did not to accept my limitations. I have learned that I am no less of a man or a worse father or nurse because I had mental health problems. Taking care of mental health is not a weakness, quite the opposite. The bravest thing a person can do is ask for help when they need it. It’s ok not to be ok.

Oncology is one of the most complex and stressful areas for nursing. It requires people who are not only clinically extremely skilled, but who also have the compassion and time to support patients and their families through the treatment process and sometimes end-of-life care. Lack of staff and poor working conditions lead to compassion fatigue, feelings of failure and a desire to leave. Sarah’s story is typical of the stress and low morale that nursing staff feel across the NHS.

A family emergency or an unforeseen expense, amid a cost-of-living crisis can be the final straw for some. For many healthcare workers who are already low paid, having to pay high prices for staple foods, heating and fuel can push them into crisis. Who can care for others when they are worried about their next family meal, or paying the gas or electricity bill?

You shouldn’t have to go to work in a caring, under-resourced profession and expect to get punched, abused and spat upon by patients and their relatives. A healthcare setting should be a safe working environment for workers and patients alike.

Votes are in, and nurses across the UK have voted to go on strike. In England, that will affect 130 NHS providers, all NHS employers in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and all but one in Wales. The ballot results come at a time when over 25,000 nursing staff have left the profession, and there are over 47,000 RCN vacancies. The current pay offer still leaves nurses more than 20% worse off than ten years earlier, and many nurses have a wage that is falling behind the National Living Wage at an increasing rate.

To put the heating up when it’s cold, or to stretch the weekly shopping budget. To go without food, soap, or period products. To deny your child the correct school uniform. To leave the NHS pension scheme and your long-term future, in order to put a meal on the table today. To fear your next energy bill, or to default on your mortgage payments. These are the daily choices that healthcare workers face.

Struggling, overworked healthcare workers are going to be faced with the looming healthcare crisis this winter. This year, it’s a perfect storm of winter viruses combined with a population who are equally having to choose to heat or eat, living in damp and cold conditions. At some point, breaking point will be reached.

This time, you’re not going to read and move on. This time, something connected with your heart. You might have been to the NHS and seen a tired nurse struggling at the end of a shift. Or a friend might be a carer battling with their mental health as a result of their stressful job. The day you chatted to a checkout operator who used to work in healthcare, but who couldn’t make ends meet.

We are thrilled to receive a grant of £2,000 from Concerts for Carers together with O2, as part of their first birthday celebrations. The first grant will go towards the refurbishment of a hospital staffroom in North Yorkshire, which will provide an updated and comfortable space away from the wards for the team. We will share with you some pictures as soon as we can.

Physician burnout has been recognised as a public health crisis in many countries because it not only affects physicians’ personal lives and work satisfaction, but also creates severe pressure on the whole health-care system - particularly threatening patients’ care and safety.

Financial assistance of up to £1,000 is now available to struggling healthcare workers and their families, thanks to national charity the Healthcare Workers’ Foundation, as it announces new programme of support.

In the healthcare sector especially, the COVID-19 pandemic, staff shortages and the financial environment have only brought to crisis point mental health issues that were already problematic in the workplace. Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, but also financial stress, menopause, and bereavement, have all taken their toll.

We’ve all read the headlines about the staffing crisis in the healthcare sector, and many of us have been personally impacted by gaps and delays. Exhausted and stressed staff are leaving the profession in their thousands. At HWF, we gather evidence-based research to understand the day-to-day experiences of staff that drive them to leave their professions, so that we can support staff in the most impactful way.

This month, we’re incredibly proud to have launched our new website. It’s our window on the world and as the healthcare sector responds to new challenges, we wanted to keep the site relevant and engaging. We’ve spent the last few months giving our website a fresh look.