Home   News   Article

New superhub of support launches for NHS birthday heroes


By Kirsty Brown

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!

As the NHS marks its 72nd birthday, a group of healthcare professionals have launched a superhub packed with over 72 resources to support frontline health and social care workers.

The hub - the first of its kind - was conceived by a group of women from the One Of Many community in response to the unprecedented mental health pressures pandemics like Covid-19 place on frontline staff.

Studies after the Sars outbreak found about 10 percent of health staff had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and many more had other signs of psychological distress.

The First You hub is entirely free and provides health and social care staff with wellbeing resources such as coaching programmes, helplines and therapies.

First You logo.
First You logo.

The women of First You knew from personal experience that there were two major obstacles for frontline workers who needed that support:

  • A culture that prioritises sacrifice over self-care and routinely expects frontline staff to ‘soldier on’ and push on through without complaint.
  • A lack of time to carry out the basic research to find the resources that are available.

As a result of this they decided to try and tackle this by creating the First You website.

A quick, easy and simple way for those on the frontline to access the support they need.

Member of the First You Steering Group Dr Susanna Petche said: “Emotional trauma, burnout and suicide are endemic in the health service and the Covid-19 pandemic has brought this into even sharper focus.

"If we are going to ‘protect the NHS’ for another 72 years, then we must prioritise the health and wellbeing of its staff.”

Founder of One Of Many Dr Joanna Martin said: “The women of First You are exemplary of the wider One Of Many community: women who want to create change and are prepared to step up and make that change happen.

"As a Doctor myself, I recognised their stories of stress, burnout and bullying – and I asked them a simple question: what are you going to do about it?

"First You is the first step in their response.”


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More