Another article describes the sad death of a newly qualified nurse this week.

We don't know the full story but the report give some key aspects which we know are triggers in other cases - a history of depression which became worse after a minor drug error.

We don't know if this nurse was getting support at work - we hope so

We don't know if she had been put through an internal investigation

We don't know if she was referred to the NMC for her Fitness to Practice

But we do know...

1) a number of newly qualified nurses have joined  NMCWatch auto get support  as they are referred to the NMC  early in their career.

2) Newly qualified nurses should have robust preceptorship I place for their first year - a support program to ease them into the responsibilities of the role. Mentorship should follow and be robust enough to provide reflection and continued learning.

3) There needs to be more recognition that members of the Healthcare Profession suffer from mental health issues too and the current workplaces seem to offer little support to avoid such tragedy.

4) 300 nurses have died by suicide in the last 7 years

5) 4 nurses have died by suicide since April 2018 whilst undergoing NMC investigations

6) 15 nurses have died prior to completion of their NMC investigation since April 2015. Cause of death is unknown and unclear if the FtP investigation contributed.

7) Mental Health impact, self harm and suicidal thoughts are high in those nurses and midwives who have joined NMCWatch - no data has been collected on the wider nursing profession.