NHS Practitioner Health Wellbeing Podcast

The Burnout and Beyond Podcast will be taking a hiatus over the next coming months, and will return in autumn. In the meantime, make sure to leave us a review! Do you want us to cover any topics related to the world of burnout? Leave us a comment! NHS Practitioner Health is a mental health and addiction service for health and care professionals who are unable to access confidential treatment from...

Practitioner Health Medical Director Dr Zaid Al-Najjar is joined by doctor, educator, and award-winning writer Dr John Launer to discuss uncertainty in medicine and healthcare - an aspect of the profession that can cause increasing feelings of stress.  Zaid and John cover uncertainty in providing care to patients, the importance of asking open questions, burnout and uncertainty, and ways to manage...

Creating a safe space to decompress after a demanding shift is a great way to reduce and manage feelings of stress. Take 8 minutes out of your day to follow Practitioner Health Therapist Dr Lisa Tyrer's guided meditation! NHS Practitioner Health is a mental health and addiction service for health and care professionals who are unable to access confidential treatment from local services.  Regi...

April is home to Stress Awareness Month- an annual campaign that highlights the causes, effects, and management of stress. This year’s theme is ‘Be The Change’ – emphasising the power of making small changes to reduce, manage, and prevent feelings of stress. In this episode of Burnout and Beyond, Practitioner Health Clinicians Dr Lee David and Dr Richard Duggins discuss what thriving looks like fo...

The 13th of March was World Sleep Day – an annual opportunity to highlight the importance of sleep health. Poor sleep is an issue that affects many health and care professionals – in the last 12 months, two in three patients registering with Practitioner Health had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much. In this episode of Burnout and Beyond, Practitioner Health clinicians Dr...

In this episode, Dr Zaid Al-Najjar, Medical Director at NHS Practitioner Health, is joined by Prof. Stella Vig, a leading figure in UK surgery with over 30 years’ experience in the NHS. She is a vascular and general surgeon at Croydon University Hospital and holds national leadership roles as National Clinical Director for Elective Care and National Medical Director for Secondary Care. This episod...

In episode 5 of Burnout and Beyond, Practitioner Health clinicians Dr Lee David and Dr Richard Duggins discuss common traits seen across health and care professionals that may contribute to the risk of burnout.  Lee and David break down how these traits interact with demanding systems, how they can show up in our everyday work, and what helps at individual team and organisational levels. NHS Pract...

In episode 4 of Burnout and Beyond, Practitioner Health Clinicians Dr Lee David and Dr Richard Duggins discuss the topic of boundaries: what they are, why they are important, and techniques to effectively set boundaries at work! Dr Lee David is a Lead Clinician and CBT Therapist for NHS Practitioner Health, author, and an experienced GP. Find out more about Lee here. Dr Richard Duggins is a Consul...

In episode 3 of Burnout and Beyond, Practitioner Health Clinicians Dr Lee David and Dr Richard Duggins explore trauma, moral distress, and moral injury, and how they contribute to burnout in health and social care. They discuss the many ways health and care professionals encounter trauma through what they witness, what they hear, and the ethical pressures they face and why recognising these experi...

In episode 2 of Burnout and Beyond, Practitioner Health Clinicians Dr Lee David and Dr Richard Duggins discuss how to recover from burnout and what helps us to live well in the long term, breaking down the themes of ‘Taking Control’, ‘Aligning Our Values’, and ‘Finding Our People’. Dr Lee David is a Lead Clinician and CBT Therapist for NHS Practitioner Health, author, and an experienced GP. Find o...

Burnout can creep up on us. As health and care professionals, it can feel that we are expected to push through and continue on, even if our workload is overwhelming. Oftentimes, we don't recognise our symptoms until they are severe, and preventing us from doing our jobs to the best of our ability. In the first episode of Burnout and Beyond, NHS Practitioner Health clinicians Dr Lee David and...

We are delighted to announce the launch of Understanding Your Emotions, a new eBook written by NHS Practitioner Health’s Medical Director, Dr Zaid Al-Najjar, alongside two of our highly experienced therapists, Ruth Deighton and Simon Lyne. Drawing on years of clinical practice, lived experience, and countless conversations with health and care staff, the book offers practical insights and compassi...

Uncertainty is a common feeling that many health and care professionals experience. However, when the feeling of uncertainty is overwhelming, it can impact your mental health and confidence inside and out of the workplace. In this episode of Understanding Emotions, Practitioner Health Medical Director Dr Zaid Al-Najjar and therapist Ruth Deighton discuss the ins and outs of experiencing uncertaint...

32% of the 2024 NHS Staff Survey respondents stated that acted as a carer towards family members, friends, neighbours, or others. This #CarersWeek, former Practitioner Health patient Dr Rachel Molloy met with Medical Director Dr Zaid Al-Najjar and Therapist Ruth Deighton to discuss her experiences of being a carer whilst being a GP. Join Rachel's Substack here: https://substack.com/@timetocar...

In the health and care workforce, sometimes positive feedback can be few and far between. This #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, have a listen to Dr Lisa Tyrer's advice on how to use positive feedback to create a supportive community in the workplace! Dr Lisa Tyrer is a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist at Practitioner Health with expertise in treating health and care professionals. NHS Practit...

As health and care professionals, our to-do list can seem never ending. In order to protect yourself from getting stressed or burnt out, it is essential to set boundaries in the workplace. This Stress Awareness Month, #LeadWithLove and have a listen to Dr Lisa Tyrer's advice on how to establish healthy boundaries at work today! Dr Lisa Tyrer is a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist and Grou...

It's important to practice self-compassion and unwind after a stressful shift. This Stress Awareness Month, 'Lead with Love' by following our 5 minute guided mindfulness resource narrated by Joanna Howes, one of our Lead Clinicians here at NHS Practitioner Health. NHS Practitioner Health is a mental health and addiction service for health and care professionals who are unable to acc...

Moral Injury 'is understood to be the strong cognitive and emotional response that can occur following events that violate a person's moral or ethical code'. This week, NHS Practitioner Health Medical Director Dr Zaid Al-Najjar is joined by therapists Simon Lyne and Ruth Deighton to discuss how moral injury manifests in health and care professionals, and how this term was popularise...

It's Time to Talk Day - an annual campaign that encourages people across the UK to start conversations on the topic of mental health. In this episode, Dr Zaid Al-Najjar is joined by Dr Jess Morgan, former paediatrician and mental health advocate previously known as ‘The Bipolar Doc’ to discuss her experiences of mental ill health as a medical student, resident doctor, and paediatrician.  Dr J...

As a health and care professional, do you implement compassion, empathy, and sympathy into your daily life? In this episode, NHS Practitioner Health Medical Director Dr Zaid Al-Najjar and Therapist Simon Lyne are joined by Dr Maiedha Raza to discuss why compassion, empathy, and sympathy are important to have in healthcare.  Resources: The King's Fund Course: An introduction to leading with ki...

It's the festive season! Although the holiday season is associated with feelings of joy, warmth, and happiness, this period of the year can be particularly hard for health and care professionals.  Medical Director Dr Zaid Al-Najjar and NHS Practitioner Health therapists Ruth Deighton and Simon Lyne discuss all things Christmas: why it can be emotionally challenging, issues that have featured...

To mark 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, NHS Practitioner Health clinicians Dr Kath O'Hara and Dr Hannah Minor are joined by Dr Seema Haider and Dr Sandi Dheensa to discuss health and care professionals affected by domestic abuse. In this episode, our hosts discuss NHS Practitioner Health's involvement in the PHRIDA Study led by Dr Sandi Dheensa, Dr Seema Haider's...

It's Movember! This year, NHS Practitioner Health are encouraging health and care professionals to open up about their mental health via our Talk Mo With PH campaign! In this episode, Zaid, Simon, and Ruth discuss the factors that prevent men from seeking mental health support, and the effect that toxic masculinity has on men's ability to open up about their mental health. Reflecting on...

This International Stress Awareness Day, NHS Practitioner Health Clinician Dr Lisa Tyrer joins Zaid, Ruth, and Simon to discuss burnout. Burnout, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases, is ‘a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.’ In this episode, Lisa, Zaid, Ruth, and Simon break down burnout- what it is, its...

NHS Practitioner Health clinicians Dr Eleanor Cole and Dr Leon Francis are joined by Melanin Medics CEO Dr Olamide Oguntimehin to discuss the journey of a black medic. Starting from the mental health of black medical students and trainees, Eleanor, Leon, and Olamide follow the black medics' journey throughout their careers in medicine, and the mental health challenges that come along with it....