NHS Staff Mental Health Statistics UK: 2026 Facts, Data & Key Insights

The NHS workforce is the backbone of UK healthcare — and it is under profound and sustained mental health strain. The 2024 NHS Staff Survey, the world's largest workforce survey, documents a workforce in which burnout, stress, and anxiety remain at worryingly high levels despite modest recent improvements. This guide brings together data from the NHS Staff Survey 2024, NHS Employers, the Nuffield Trust, the King's Fund, and Medscape to provide the most comprehensive NHS staff mental health statistics available.

Key Facts

747,288 NHS staff responded to the 2024 NHS Staff Survey — a 50% response rate across 210 NHS trusts in England
NHS sickness absence in October 2024 was 18% higher than the equivalent month before the pandemic
Over a quarter of all days lost to NHS sickness are linked to anxiety, stress, and mental health issues
Staff burnout in 2024 was at its lowest level since 2021 — but experts warned it remained "worryingly high" and risked being "normalised"
Only 34% of staff felt there were enough people at their organisation to do their job properly — though this was a 1.7% improvement from 2023
More than a quarter of staff reported experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse from colleagues, managers, patients, or the public
Fewer than two-thirds (64.28%) of respondents would be happy with the standard of care provided by their own organisation if a friend or family member needed treatment
Only 60.80% would recommend their organisation as a place to work
NHS staff are 50% more likely to experience chronic stress than the general population (King's Fund)
The King's Fund has linked burnout directly to staff retention — with the BMJ finding associations between burnout and increased likelihood of leaving the NHS
Satisfaction with pay among medical and dental staff rose by 16% to 48% in 2024, following resolution of industrial action
Despite improved pay satisfaction, overall morale and wellbeing remain well below pre-pandemic levels

The 2024 NHS Staff Survey: Key Findings

The NHS Staff Survey is conducted annually across all NHS trusts in England. The 2024 edition — with responses from 747,288 staff representing a 50% response rate — is the most recent authoritative data on NHS workforce mental health.

The survey captures responses from 220,501 nurses, 114,818 allied health professionals, 108,843 admin and clerical staff, 56,290 nursing or healthcare assistants, 50,776 doctors or dentists, and 27,056 ambulance personnel — making it a genuinely comprehensive picture of the full spectrum of NHS roles.

On sickness absence, the data is stark: NHS sickness absence in October 2024 was 18% higher than in the equivalent pre-pandemic month. Over a quarter of all days lost to sickness were linked to anxiety, stress, and mental health issues — consistent with the pattern seen across NHS mental health statistics more broadly and aligned with the HSE's finding that mental health conditions now account for 52% of all work-related ill health nationally.

Burnout: Improvement, But Not Recovery

The 2024 survey showed a reduction in reported burnout compared with the three preceding years — a genuinely welcome finding. Staff burnout was at its lowest level since 2021. However, Nuffield Trust senior fellow Dr Billy Palmer characterised the finding carefully: while the improvement is real, burnout remains "worryingly high" and there is a genuine risk of its normalisation — a process by which elevated burnout simply becomes the accepted baseline rather than a problem requiring resolution.

The King's Fund's analysis is more direct: NHS staff are 50% more likely to experience chronic stress than the general population. This elevated baseline reflects the combination of high patient demand, persistent staff shortages, and the inherent emotional labour of clinical work.

For comparison with burnout data across the wider UK economy, see our burnout statistics guide, which documents 91% of UK adults experiencing high or extreme stress in 2025.

Harassment, Bullying, and Abuse

More than a quarter of NHS staff reported experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse in the 2024 survey — whether from colleagues, managers, patients, or the public. Discrimination against healthcare staff from patients and the public continued an upward trend, and rates of physical violence remained stable.

The harassment and bullying data connects directly to the patterns documented in our workplace bullying statistics guide: bullying is associated with significantly elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, and NHS trusts with higher bullying rates show worse patient care outcomes, higher staff turnover, and poorer survey scores across multiple dimensions.

Staffing Adequacy and Care Quality

Only 34% of staff felt there were enough colleagues to do their job properly in 2024 — though this was a 1.7% improvement from 2023, and ambulance trusts showed the largest improvement at 6.5 percentage points. The NHS has grown by approximately 140,000 workers across hospitals, general practice, and community services in recent years, contributing to the modest improvement.

However, demand for NHS mental health services is growing faster than staffing — with 2.8 million referrals to adult community mental health services in 2024 alone. The staffing picture for mental health services specifically is explored in detail in our NHS mental health statistics guide.

The 87.76% of staff who said their role made a difference to patients speaks to the deep professional commitment that characterises the NHS workforce — and makes the mental health data all the more significant. Protecting staff wellbeing is not simply a welfare obligation; it is a patient safety imperative.

Industrial Action and Pay Resolution

One of the most significant contextual factors in the 2024 survey data is the resolution of industrial action that had disrupted NHS services for most of 2022/23. Satisfaction with pay among medical and dental staff rose by 16% to 48% in 2024 — a substantial improvement. The resolution of industrial action has removed a major source of workforce stress and frustration.

However, the survey also shows that overall morale and wellbeing remain well below pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that pay was a significant but not sole driver of workforce distress.

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This guide was produced by the team at Mental Health First Aid Course. We work with NHS organisations to deliver mental health awareness training that supports staff wellbeing and helps managers recognise and respond to mental health difficulties early.