Prevalence and Risk Factors of Burnout Among Mental Health Professionals in the NHS: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT Introduction Approximately 41% of NHS staff experience work‐related stress. Previous reviews on mental health professionals' (MHPs) burnout have suggested that up to 40% experience emotional exhaustion, 22% depersonalisation and 19% low personal accomplishment. The present review aimed to explore the prevalence of burnout among MHPs in NHS mental health services and the associated risk factors. Methods A systematic review and meta‐analysis on the prevalence and risk factors of burnout was conducted. Synonyms and related terms with ‘mental health professionals’ (population), ‘burnout’ (outcome) and ‘NHS’ (context) were searched on CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Web of Science in March 2025. The meta‐analysis on burnout prevalence was conducted using the ‘metafor’ package on R. Cochran's Q and I 2 were used to assess heterogeneity. A narrative synthesis was employed to explore risk factors. Results A total of 14 studies were included, seven of which were used for the meta‐analysis due to the available data, replicating previous meta‐analysis studies on burnout. Pooled prevalence for emotional exhaustion was 42%, for depersonalisation it was 22% and for personal accomplishment it was 19%. Risk factors are conceptualised at an individual and organisational level. Discussion Future research is needed to explore NHS MHPs' experiences of burnout, particularly clinical psychologists, who were the least represented group across the included studies. Clinical implications and limitations are also discussed.