All of the NHS’s 1.4 million staff will be offered free mental health support from Friday to help them cope with the “shell shock” of tackling Covid-19.

NHS staff will be given free access to a programme of more than 1,500 specialists, online therapy and group counselling sessions. They will also receive practical and financial assistance as well as specialist bereavement, psychological support and help with sleep problems.

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“I don’t want to use war language, but when the crisis hits, we are likely to see NHS staff suffering symptoms similar to shell shock,” said Lucy Warner, chief executive of NHS Practitioner Health, which has set up the mental health side of the wellbeing programme.

Warner said this was a long-term programme. “Staff might not need this most badly in the immediate term, when the crisis hits because they’ll be so busy. But three to six months down the line … staff are likely to suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome.”

Prerana Issar, chief people officer for the NHS, said: “We need to do everything we can to support our incredible NHS people as they care for people through this global health emergency. That’s why we have developed a range of support for all NHS staff, from one-to-one mental health support to a sympathetic voice to confide in.”

Volunteers staffing the phone and text lines have come from charities including Hospice UK, the Samaritans and Shout.

The NHS has also partnered with Headspace, UnMind and Big Health to offer free access to their apps which offer support in issues ranging from guided meditation to tools to battle anxiety and help with sleep problems.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said: “As the pandemic continues, our people will face new and growing challenges on a daily basis and it’s therefore more important than ever that they are able to access resources to help them manage their wellbeing, in a way that suits their needs.”

Ruth Chaloner, founder of the HelpHub, an online therapy service offering free sessions across the UK, will provide specialist supervisors to support the new service’s front-line therapists.

“Supervision for these therapists will be crucial,” she said. “They will be listening to NHS staff who are scared, anxious and fearful, repeatedly telling them the same type of story: how they had to set up Facetime so a husband could say goodbye to his wife, for example, or how someone just died on them, and they don’t know why.

“These therapists will be listening to the same or similar stories multiple times every day,” she said. “Many therapists aren’t accustomed to helping people through this level of raw trauma but we can see the sheer mass of grief and trauma coming down the line at us for probably years to come.”

The president of the British Psychological Society, David Murphy, said: “The coronavirus crisis has placed unprecedented demands on staff working in health and social care.

“Not only are they facing long hours, intense work and a risk of infection, but they are also managing psychological distress of patients, offering care at the end of life, and supporting bereaved families. This is true for both clinical staff and non-clinical staff working at the frontline.”