supporting those who support us
"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how"
Twilight of the Idols
Friedrich Nietzsche (1888)
Twilight of the Idols
Friedrich Nietzsche (1888)
The Why?
supporting those who support us
Why did we establish r2p?
In short, to support those who support us – with a focus on the First Responder community (NHS, Ambulance, Fire & Rescue and Police).
In each of these professions, there is a desperate need for wellbeing, particularly mental wellbeing, support. We offer that – ‘psychological PPE’. To enable us to reach as many as possible, we need the financial support of suppliers into the sector to show their support and commitment, not only as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, but also as a business benefit – supporting their customers.
Contact us if you want to make a real social impact and show your support and commitment.
A brief look at a tiny amount of supporting evidence
Yes, that means there is a huge amount of evidence, but let's just look at a little here.The cost of poor mental wellbeing in England is around £300 billion per year which equates to double the NHS’s entire budget in England in 2022 (£153bn). They are similar to the estimated impact of Covid-19 on the UK economy in 2020 (£260bn in 2020 prices) – comparable, economically, to having a pandemic every year1.
In the month of June 2025, there were 625,834 days' sickness reported by NHS staff for anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric reasons7 – equivalent to over 1700 'working years' lost in just one month. There are wide variations in the figure for the average pay in the NHS, but if we work on a salary of £25,000 (roughly the lowest full-time salary for any staff), that is a value of almost £43 million in just one month - pro rata equal to over £500 million per year. In reality, the average pay is significantly higher. The NHS reports an average of £43k8 which would make the annual cost of sick leave due to poor mental wellbeing to be closer to £1 billion (£870m) per year. Even if we discount the human suffering of those involved and that of their colleagues, family and friends, not to mention the impact on patients and waiting lists, the business case for supporting staff could not be clearer.
The current crisis has intensified the pressure faced by health and social care professionals, with serious implications for their wellbeing and the functioning of the organisations that employ them2. 61% of NHS Trust leaders report increased staff absence from work or leave due to mental health issues3.
The brutal fact of the current economic situation is that our First Responders desperately want and need the training that we offer to support their wellbeing and help with managing stress. Their own organisations are so resource-poor that they struggle to be able to carry out their day-to-day 'business' (eg. healthcare for the public, running the fire or policing provision), so the thing that too often gets cut is looking after their invaluable staff.
Losses to the economy due to mental ill health include the business costs of sickness absence and 'presenteeism' at work, as well as staff turnover and unemployment among people with mental ill health1. This is reflected in the NHS, with the vacancy rate reaching an all-time high in September 2022, with 132,139 vacancies and 69% of Trust leaders reporting difficulties in recruitment, particularly for lower-paid posts3.
This crisis doesn’t only affect the NHS and healthcare workers. It is similar for Fire & Rescue and Police services. The allostatic load on all First Responders (the cumulative 'wear and tear' on the body caused by chronic stress) often results in health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and, of course, mental wellbeing issues and can even cause brain remodelling due to the long-term effects.
Most people will encounter between zero and four seriously-traumatic events in their lives4 whereas First Responders will experience around 7005. If we look at Fire and Rescue Services as an example, in the year ending in September 2024, they:
- assisted at 3137 suicide attempts (y/y increase of 5.0%)
- attended 31,946 RTCs
- attended 14,592 medical incidents6.
According to Doctors in Distress, "statistics show that in the UK one doctor takes their own life every 3 weeks and one nurse takes their own life every week".
Data such as these are shocking and it is clear that there is a huge need for wellbeing support for all our First Responders. In a time where such support is being cut, our work is critical.
Show that you really care
We need funding from suppliers to the First Responder sector so they can demonstrate their real commitment to supporting the people who work there. This support demonstrates real Social Impact, not only Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as an ethical and moral position 'to give something back'.Contact us to discuss how you can show your support and commitment.
Help us to support those that support us.
1. Cardoso and McHayle, 2024: The economic and social costs of mental ill health
2. Kinman, 2021: Managing stress, burnout and fatigue in health and social care
3. NHS Providers: The effect of the rising cost of living on NHS staff
4. Kessler et al., 2017: Trauma and PTSD in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys
5. Williams, 2025: WYKT
6. Home Office, 2025: Accredited official statistics: Fire and rescue incident statistics: England, year ending September 2024
7. The Times, 31 October 2025: NHS staff took over 620,000 sick days for mental health in a month
8. NHS Staff Earnings Estimates, July 2025: NHS Digital
The Why?
supporting those who support us
Why did we establish r2p?
In short, to support those who support us – with a focus on the First Responder community (NHS, Ambulance, Fire & Rescue and Police).
In each of these professions, there is a desperate need for wellbeing, particularly mental wellbeing, support. We offer that – ‘psychological PPE’. To enable us to reach as many as possible, we need the financial support of suppliers into the sector to show their support and commitment, not only as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, but also as a business benefit – supporting their customers.
Contact us if you want to make a real social impact and show your support and commitment.
A brief look at a tiny amount of supporting evidence
Yes, that means there is a huge amount of evidence, but let's just look at a little here.The cost of poor mental wellbeing in England is around £300 billion per year which equates to double the NHS’s entire budget in England in 2022 (£153bn). They are similar to the estimated impact of Covid-19 on the UK economy in 2020 (£260bn in 2020 prices) – comparable, economically, to having a pandemic every year1.
In the month of June 2025, there were 625,834 days' sickness reported by NHS staff for anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric reasons7 – equivalent to over 1700 'working years' lost in just one month. There are wide variations in the figure for the average pay in the NHS, but if we work on a salary of £25,000 (roughly the lowest full-time salary for any staff), that is a value of almost £43 million in just one month - pro rata equal to over £500 million per year. In reality, the average pay is significantly higher. The NHS reports an average of £43k8 which would make the annual cost of sick leave due to poor mental wellbeing to be closer to £1 billion (£870m) per year. Even if we discount the human suffering of those involved and that of their colleagues, family and friends, not to mention the impact on patients and waiting lists, the business case for supporting staff could not be clearer.
The current crisis has intensified the pressure faced by health and social care professionals, with serious implications for their wellbeing and the functioning of the organisations that employ them2. 61% of NHS Trust leaders report increased staff absence from work or leave due to mental health issues3.
The brutal fact of the current economic situation is that our First Responders desperately want and need the training that we offer to support their wellbeing and help with managing stress. Their own organisations are so resource-poor that they struggle to be able to carry out their day-to-day 'business' (eg. healthcare for the public, running the fire or policing provision), so the thing that too often gets cut is looking after their invaluable staff.
Losses to the economy due to mental ill health include the business costs of sickness absence and 'presenteeism' at work, as well as staff turnover and unemployment among people with mental ill health1. This is reflected in the NHS, with the vacancy rate reaching an all-time high in September 2022, with 132,139 vacancies and 69% of Trust leaders reporting difficulties in recruitment, particularly for lower-paid posts3.
This crisis doesn’t only affect the NHS and healthcare workers. It is similar for Fire & Rescue and Police services. The allostatic load on all First Responders (the cumulative 'wear and tear' on the body caused by chronic stress) often results in health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and, of course, mental wellbeing issues and can even cause brain remodelling due to the long-term effects.
Most people will encounter between zero and four seriously-traumatic events in their lives4 whereas First Responders will experience around 7005. If we look at Fire and Rescue Services as an example, in the year ending in September 2024, they:
- assisted at 3137 suicide attempts (y/y increase of 5.0%)
- attended 31,946 RTCs
- attended 14,592 medical incidents6.
According to Doctors in Distress, "statistics show that in the UK one doctor takes their own life every 3 weeks and one nurse takes their own life every week".
Data such as these are shocking and it is clear that there is a huge need for wellbeing support for all our First Responders. In a time where such support is being cut, our work is critical.
Show that you really care
We need funding from suppliers to the First Responder sector so they can demonstrate their real commitment to supporting the people who work there. This support demonstrates real Social Impact, not only Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as an ethical and moral position 'to give something back'.Contact us to discuss how you can show your support and commitment.
Help us to support those that support us.
1. Cardoso and McHayle, 2024: The economic and social costs of mental ill health
2. Kinman, 2021: Managing stress, burnout and fatigue in health and social care
3. NHS Providers: The effect of the rising cost of living on NHS staff
4. Kessler et al., 2017: Trauma and PTSD in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys
5. Williams, 2025: WYKT
6. Home Office, 2025: Accredited official statistics: Fire and rescue incident statistics: England, year ending September 2024
7. The Times, 31 October 2025: NHS staff took over 620,000 sick days for mental health in a month
8. NHS Staff Earnings Estimates, July 2025: NHS Digital