Let us do better: learning lessons for recovery of healthcare professionals during and after COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasises the need to rethink and restructure the culture of healthcare organisations if we are to ensure the long-term well-being and mental health of healthcare provider organisations and their staff. In this paper, we recognise the high levels of stress and distress among staff of healthcare services before the COVID-19 pandemic began. We identify lessons for care of healthcare staff and illustrate the paths by which support mobilises and later deteriorates. Although this paper focuses on NHS staff in the UK, we contend that similar effects are likely in most healthcare systems.