UNIVERSITY Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust have planted a special memorial tree in memory of healthcare workers who have died by suicide.
The tree planting ceremony took place on December 2 and was part of the National Memorial Tree Campaign led by the mental health charity Doctors in Distress.
Professor Andy Hardy, chief executive officer of the Trust, joined Susannah Basile, Interim CEO of Doctors in Distress, to plant a red maple tree outside the Clinical Sciences Building.
Professor Hardy said: “When you hear the statistics that a doctor in the NHS dies by suicide every three weeks and a nurse in the NHS dies by suicide every week, this really brings home what our clinical colleagues are feeling day-in, day-out.
“This is a way to make us think more about what we as employers in the NHS can do to support people who find themselves in that terrifying situation where they may be considering suicide.”
Doctors in Distress is a charity which provides peer support for all UK healthcare workers to protect staffs mental health.
The charity is asking every hospital in the country to support the campaign by planting a memorial tree.
Speaking at the ceremony at University Hospital, Susannah Basile said: “We all know the pressures that healthcare workers face on a daily basis so it’s imperative that we provide mental wellbeing support, not just for those who are feeling suicidal but right from the beginning of their career from junior team members to the most senior so we can help people process the emotional impact of their work.
“What you are doing here, and what is so important to do as an organisation, is to show people that it is OK to be human. Healthcare workers are not robots, they are not numbers, they are people with emotions and feelings who see really difficult things every day.”
The Patron of Doctors in Distress is BAFTA winner Adam Kay, former NHS doctor and bestselling author of This is Going to Hurt.
He said: “The first step in solving a problem must be in admitting that the problem exists, and this is something I tried to highlight in the BBC adaptation of my book.
“The series culminated in the death by suicide of a doctor called Shruti, a fictional character based on so many tragic stories.
“In the show, a tree was planted in her memory, which has led to trees being planted in real-life hospitals to commemorate lost colleagues.
“I’m very proud to support Doctors in Distress in raising awareness of this vital issue and protecting the mental health of healthcare workers.”
