A grim statistic has revealed that more than 300 nurses have committed suicide in the past seven years. This is according to the Office for National Statistics, which has found out that 305 nurses have taken their lives after being overworked.
The year 2014 was the worst for these professionals, with 54 nurses committing suicide. On average, that means at least one nurse died every week. In 2016, 51 nurses died, and 37 others ended their lives in 2017.
Unfortunately, things are likely to worsen now that the NHS is reducing staff, so today, nurses have a higher risk of committing suicide than other professionals.
These figures are shocking, and the government needs to look into them. They are even 23 percent more suicides by female nurses than in other professions within the UK.
According to Mr. Ashworth, something needs to be done about the health and well-being of NHS staff. This should be an obvious goal given the weight of these statistics. And he is not the only one who thinks so.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) also stepped in to explain that nurses were highly stressed and that employers were consistently ignoring the mental health issues these professionals face.
These employers argue that nurses should be in a position to code with such issues. But in reality, these professionals need help, and they need it badly, considering how likely the nurses are to commit suicide.
It is generally recommended that employers put more effort into giving nurses the support they need so that these cases happen less often. Therefore, it is not just the government that needs to step up and remedy the situation.
Employers need to take the well-being of their employees more seriously so that we stop losing nurses of all ages in such a manner.
It is also worth looking into why female nurses are more likely to take their lives than male nurses. Finding the answers to such questions might help determine why so many nurses are losing their lives through suicide.
Some nurses who have committed suicide are in their twenties, while the oldest to make this drastic decision was 64 years of age.
A multiplicity of issues need to be addressed to stop these alarming deaths. The best approach is for all stakeholders to assess the situation to understand what conditions are giving rise to such an unprecedented rise in deaths within the nursing profession. Otherwise, the situation might get worse over time if left unattended.
At the moment, nurses who are undergoing any form of stress or any person who has been affected by such issues can call a certain number any time of the day and get help.
Suicide prevention is also available, and hotline numbers for suicide are available in the US (1-80-273-8255) and Australia (13 11 14).
In the UK, those in need of assistance can call 116 123, an anonymous 24-hour phone line.
Every life lost in this manner is a huge tragedy, and there is more that can be done to keep things from getting more out of control as they have at the moment.
