MPs’ staff survey finds distress at levels similar to frontline NHS workers

The survey found 42% of MPs’ staff met the clinical definition of experiencing psychological distress, three times higher than in the general population. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Staff working for MPs face similar levels of psychological distress as frontline NHS workers, a survey has found, amid a “toxic” workload and fears for their safety.

A study of 315 parliamentary workers, the largest of its kind, found many were struggling with the vicarious trauma of helping desperate people in a worsening cost of living crisis.