ABSTRACT
Health service staff have considerably higher levels of stress than other workers in Britain, while doctors in particular have higher stress, depression and alcoholism than other professional groups. This chapter focuses on interventions for stress - the ways that staff can care for themselves and for their colleagues. It addresses both preventive and secondary interventions for stress, targeting the organisation and the individual. Accurate communication to staff makes them aware of the organisation's pathway, successes and difficulties and this again allows a sense of belonging, increases participation in addressing problems, builds trust and reduces rumours which are a symptom of poor organisational health. In Australia the provision of a small booklet on how to manage people in ways that reduce their stress has contributed significantly to the dramatic reduction in claims for workers' compensation for job-related psychological distress.
