A health and wellbeing business has taken the decision to gift its flagship mental health app to all nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare support workers in England, with staff Yorkshire NHS foundations set to support the app’s launch.

ShinyMind was the brain child of psychotherapist Rebecca Howard, and has been co-created with the NHS, involving nurses, midwives and healthcare support workers, with an approach to wellbeing developed over five years of research.

The decision comes amid reports that more than 40,000 nurses have left the NHS in the past year largely due to stress.

Staff at both Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation have taken part in the launch event this week.

Nurse Karen Storey with ShinyMind founder, Rebecca Howard. The company has gifted its award-winning app to all nurses, midwives and healthcare support workers in England to support their wellbeing. Picture by Simon Williams.

Jenny Hinchliffe, deputy chief nurse at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I’m delighted we are part of the national launch of the ShinyMind app and to be sharing the resources with our nurses, midwives and support workers to help improve their health and wellbeing.

“The masterclasses are interesting and full of useful information and I’m really looking forward to exploring the Restorative and Reflective Supervision resources that have recently been added and hope that these will help our supervisors and supervisees with their practice.”

It aims to empower nurses to understand and manage their emotions and reactions and in turn, help them manage stress more effectively and improve their wellbeing.

The app contains resources specific to nursing needs such as reflective support, assertiveness and voice masterclasses.

The app is already being used by nurses across Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.

Independent research which polled 400 nurses using ShinyMind showed that 46 per cent felt it had improved their productivity.

94 per cent ‘felt better’ as a result of using it, with the average improvement in wellbeing standing at 117 per cent.

Rebecca Howard said: “I am delighted to launch the nursing version of ShinyMind.

"Having spent over five years developing it, it’s great to finally share its resources with the nursing community which does so much for us all in the face of extraordinary challenges.

Health and wellbeing business give free access to mental health app for nurses