SICK AND BROKEN

Nurses suffer nightmares and panic attacks, shock poll finds

- BY LIZZY BUCHAN Political Editor

NURSES are being left sick and broken by chronic understaffing in hospitals and care homes, a bombshell survey warns today.

Staff shortages are causing employees to suffer nightmares and panic attacks, while staff feel forced to keep on working when they are ill, according to the Royal College of Nursing poll.

The union said it was receiving dozens of calls a week from burnt-out staff, and its advice line is on course for the highest number of calls this year since 2022.

Its survey of more than 20,000 UK nursing staff found two-thirds admitted to working while ill multiple times a year, up from 49% in 2017. Stress is now the biggest cause of illness given by staff at 65.1%, up from 50% in 2017.