Staff Mental Health Service

If you are experiencing intense, overwhelming emotions, anxiety or distress our team can provide confidential, specialist mental health care tailored to your needs. We work closely with the other NHS staff health and wellbeing services within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, providing an option for stepped-up specialist care when needed.

Following a referral, the team will contact you within 72 hours to discuss your needs. After this initial contact, you will be offered an assessment unless we consider that your needs are better met by another service. At the assessment, your clinician will discuss the best approach to help you further, arranging a specialised treatment plan to support your individual needs. This may include:

• Psychiatric assessment and review
• Psychological therapies
• Occupational health support
• Medication advice

Your privacy and confidentiality will be respected at all times. You can check our team guide to ensure you are matched with someone you are comfortable with.  

Find out about therapies offered in this guide 

Download the Staff Mental Health Service leaflet   

The SMHS operates primarily as a remote service with appointments via online video calls.
If you are unable to access online appointments, please let us know and we can arrange to meet with you face to face.

The First Response Service provides 24 hour access, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to mental health care, advice and support.

For help in a mental health crisis out of hours, call 111 and press option 2.

Please contact your GP for local service details if you live outside Cambridgeshire or Peterborough.

The following links are provided to help staff using the service, and also staff and members of the public who would like to learn more about free mental health resources available in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and the UK. Please contact us with any feedback or queries you might like to run past our service.

• NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Talking Therapies
  Access to psychological therapies for common mental health problems like anxiety and depression.Please contact your GP for local service details if you live outside Cambridgeshire or Peterborough.
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 24/7 Mental Health First Response Service
  For help in a mental health crisis please contact the First Response Service on
  NHS 111 and select option 2 (available 24/7) 
  Please contact your GP for local service details if you live outside Cambridgeshire or Peterborough.
• Keep Your Head Adult Mental Health
  For information on mental health and local mental health services
• Cambridge University Mindfulness Society
• The Cambridge Group Therapy Centre
• Relate Cambridgeshire and Fenland for Relationship Counselling
• Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind
• Richmond Fellowship housing and employment support
• Fitness to boost mental health
• Active living Cambridgeshire
• Cambridge Samaritans
• Peterborough Samaritans
• Our NHS People 
  Support and resources for NHS staff health and wellbeing 

The Staff Mental Health Service team aims to build knowledge and improve care through research studies and service evaluation. Your details can only be used for research purposes following additional consent and discussion with you. In appointments, our staff will explain any suitable research projects and opportunities, so you can decide if you wish to take part. Details of current studies are provided below. Please contact our research leads theodora.karadaki@cpft.nhs.uk or muzaffer.kaser@cpft.nhs.uk for further information.

Service evaluation

The SMHS undertakes annual service evaluation work aiming to define the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of people referred to SMHS and identify clinical differences to the general NHS population. The service was set up during the Covid-19 pandemic and the first service evaluation examines a 15-month period since its launch.
This study offers a valuable insight into NHS staff mental health during a period of extraordinary pressures. This work was funded by the Addenbrookes Charitable Trust and CPFT Research and Development.

SMHS Health Economics Study (IRAS ID: 301147)

Funded by the Evelyn Trust Foundation, the SMHS is collaborating with the University of East Anglia to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the service. Health economics refers to a type of evaluation which reviews the most effective way of using health system resources. 
This research will also examine the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the population that presents to the SMHS. This study aims to create an evidence base that can be used by other services and will help the NHS provide appropriate mental health support to staff.

Read more about this study

Covid and Cognition Study (IRAS ID:295019)

In collaboration with Dr Lucy Cheke from the University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, we are investigating the effects of Covid-19 infection on cognitive functions (e.g. memory, attention, concentration) in healthcare workers who have depression and/or anxiety disorders. Previous research showed that Covid-19 infection showed poorer cognitive performance (Guo et al. 2022) in a group of people recruited from the community. This research will help us to understand whether having Covid-19 infection leads to more cognitive problems in a clinical population. 

Read more about this study