Helen Curr, Chief Executive at Here asks: Does the need for Psychological PPE mean accepting we work in a toxic environment?

I am seeing the phrase Psychological PPE increasingly, and I’m feeling mixed about it.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) protects healthcare staff from physical harm. As the name suggests Psychological PPE is a set of tools or ways of managing situations designed to protect staff’s mental health and increase resilience.

On the one hand I’m delighted that looking after yourself well and the provision to support this in a range of workplace settings is becoming widespread and normalised. We are seeing less stigma and better support for people who need it. On the other hand, I’m disturbed by the analogy. Psychological PPE was coined during the COVID 19 pandemic, as services prepared and supported staff entering an unprecedented time in NHS history.

I agree we must make support routinely available in workplaces for anyone who is struggling, but we need to pay attention to what we can do in the workplace to create spaces where everyone can thrive.

In physical health care we supply and use PPE to protect us from toxic risks to our health. In responding to critical incidents, disaster response planning, considering psychological PPE feels right and proper. But in routine, day-to –day health and care work, surely, we don’t need the same level of personal protection?

In saying we need Psychological PPE in more mainstream settings, are we accepting it is okay to have workplaces so difficult to work in we need PPE to keep us safe?

Personal v Systematic Protection

I agree we must make support routinely available in workplaces for anyone who is struggling, but we need to pay attention to what we can do in the workplace to create spaces where everyone can thrive.

So rather than Personal Protective Equipment, what is the systemic protection needed for people to be able to remove their masks, bring their whole selves to work, look after their colleagues and prioritise their health?

Things That Help

Recently we were finalist at the HSJ (Health Service Journal) awards for our staff wellbeing programme. Here’s some of the things we learned that can help:

• Using purpose as our north star, making sure our staff know and understand what good looks like, and are confident to call out if we are off track
• Building wellness into daily work – from midday mindfulness to meeting ‘check ins’, we share our current realities so we can adapt how we work in response
• Making real offers – this year we’ve had hot meals, group activities, wellness vouchers, health coaching, staff loans and a fully funded week-long retreat. We track how it is used, and ask people what they’d like to include
• Training – if you want everyone to flourish, you have to support your managers well. We need to train people on the softer skills – we can’t expect people to have courageous conversations without support
• Learning – we are getting in touch with others who do this well who else is doing this well, we want to continually learn.

Lots of what we do would typically be listed in advice around Psychological PPE, I’d just like to see less emphasis on what individuals can do, and more on employers to create a new way of working that helps people thrive.

Helen Curr, Chief Executive

My role is to hold ourselves true to our values. To make sure our commitment to putting people at the heart of their healthcare journey is embedded in every decision and action we take.