‘Don’t show that you’re scared’: resilience in providing healthcare in a UK low-to-medium secure hospital

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Healthcare provision within specialist hospitals is associated with heightened levels of stress and burnout, risking negative implications for employees, organisations, and patients. Minimal research has focused on lower-skilled worker experiences. This study explores frontline care workers’ experience and perceptions of providing care within a low-to-medium secure hospital within the UK. Method Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare assistants and mental health nurses (18–65 years) at a low-to-medium secure hospital. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyse the data. Results Three main themes are proposed: ‘Resilience to threat’ capturing the daily occurrence and normalisation of threat; ‘Need for support’ shows peer to peer talk as the primary coping mechanism but importantly, a possible disconnect between perceptions, and provision, of organisational support; finally, ‘Unique environment’ highlights the dual aspect of providing care and correction whilst coping with common challenges e.g. staff shortages. Conclusions Results provide insight into the pressures experienced by frontline healthcare workers alongside staff motivation to ‘make a difference’. Findings highlight some unique challenges of working in low-to-medium secure hospitals which contributes to negative outcomes for worker engagement, performance, and individuals’ mental and physical health. Implications for organisations and future practice are discussed.