Healthcare workers struggled with chronically unmanageable workloads and a lack of meaningful support.
A new report has found that employers often “failed to protect” healthcare workers during the pandemic.
Published earlier this month, the report by the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals the physical and psychological damage done to healthcare professionals during the pandemic because employers failed to protect them.
According to the report, the direct risk of infection from the virus was not the only health risk to healthcare workers.
The mental health of workers was severely damaged by the pandemic which caused extreme stress and burnout leading to instances of suicide and other long-term mental health conditions.
Healthcare workers also struggled with chronically unmanageable workloads, inappropriate or inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and a serious lack of meaningful support from organisations.
Frontline nursing staff in the UK were given repurposed bin bags to use as PPE and some workers now suffer from PTSD or long-Covid as a direct result of the pandemic.
A heavy and unfair burden.
The report encourages healthcare providers to establish plans now, developed alongside healthcare professionals, so that experiences are not repeated during any future international health emergencies in the future.
International Council of Nurses Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton, said the report should be used to ensure healthcare staff do not have to carry such a heavy and unfair burden in the future.
“Around the world, prior underinvestment in health systems meant that they failed the health professionals and multidisciplinary teams that are the life blood, the very essence of our health care services.
Mr Catton continued, “We know what needs to be done: the challenge is making it happen. A vital first step would be to have more health professionals in the most senior leadership positions to counter the current disconnect between decision makers and health care professionals on the front line.
“We need governments to honour the contribution of nurses and others during the pandemic, elevate them to positions where they can more directly influence health care policies, and make sure that they never again have to face a deadly pandemic without the care, support and protection that they deserve.”
