The strain of working during a pandemic for medical staff is beginning to reveal itself.

The pandemic has shattered all previously held conceptions of normality. Stay-at-home orders were issued and many were put on furlough. However, whilst some were out of work entirely, others were thrust onto the frontlines, tasked with caring for those infected with Covid-19. It was a role few would have seen coming, and yet they rose to the challenge and sacrificed their own safety to try and ensure the wellbeing of others.

This all began over a year ago. Now, the situation around the world varies, with transmission rates in the UK falling with the help of the vaccines, whilst India is seeing a record surge in cases and dwindling oxygen supplies. What has not changed is the burden on healthcare workers who have had little respite. The effects of this are now emerging.

Pandemic Fatigue

 The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines pandemic fatigue as demotivation to follow recommended protective behaviours, emerging gradually over time and affected by a number of emotions, experiences and perceptions. This phenomenon is not unexpected. The severity and scale of the Covid-19 pandemic prompted the world to enter into a state of lockdown. The measures needed to bring the infection rate under control, however, removed social freedoms whilst the pandemic itself loomed large over people’s lives.

It was not missed that the restrictions were not only necessary but implemented with the citizens best interest in mind. That said, the restrictions weigh heavy. Yet, the burden for healthcare professionals was even greater as they not only had to grapple with the restrictions but also confront the harrowing reality of their work.

The effects of this have materialised in recent weeks, with the Washington Post reporting that 3 in 10 healthcare workers consider leaving the profession due to burn-out from the pandemic. More than half feel burned out and 6 in 10 feel that their mental health has deteriorated as a result of the pandemic. Yet, the statistics only tell half the story. Their accounts of working on the frontlines reveal what many will have suspected, but has now been confirmed.

What are they saying?

The true reality of working in healthcare during a pandemic is harrowing. What binds all the accounts together is the stress that they are under. Likewise, the medical workers speak of being surrounded by death and suffering. As one health worker in Dallas put it, ‘when death is blowing around you like a tornado and you can’t make a dent in any of it, it makes you question whether you’re making any difference’.

These words offer a stark reflection of the reality of the Covid-19 health crisis. There is little opportunity to escape the macabre environment of healthcare across the globe. Each day, doctors, nurses and all other healthcare professionals enter into a situation fraught with danger. The words of the Dallas healthcare aptly articulate the situation. They are surrounded by death and there is no escaping it.

The stress they face is only compounded by the danger that surrounds them. At the peak of the pandemic, healthcare workers exposed themselves to a virus whose deadly effects were only just becoming apparent. Since then, many have died and even more have contracted Covid-19.

Unsurprisingly, working in this environment has had a devastating effect on the collective mental health of the frontline workers. For Boingoc Dinh, a second-year medical resident at WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital in rural Pennsylvania, the burden of working during the pandemic was intense:

‘The longer the pandemic went on, the more depression and anxiety I saw — in my colleagues, in my patients, everyone. The mental health toll was astronomical.’

What emerges from the accounts of Dinh and others is their sense of helplessness. Doctors are being pushed to the absolute limit by working 12-hour shifts, only to return the next day and face it all over again. A junior doctor in Wales said that they spent a lot of time on the phone with family members of patients and it was seldom good news. They even found themselves crying on the way home from work at times.

The reaction of this junior doctor is not uncommon. In fact, it is very much the norm. In February 2021, it was reported that 22% of all British medical staff met the criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Likewise, close to half of all British medical staff had symptoms of anxiety or depression. These recent findings bring to light the sheer burden faced by those working in healthcare. Whilst it was never ignored, the full scope of their situation remained somewhat obscured. Now, however, they have been laid bare for all to see.

What next?

Although the burden faced by health workers is similar, their present situations differ from each other. For medical staff in the UK, there is some optimism that the vaccines are succeeding in lowering rates of transmission along with the recent lockdown. However, the situation in the other parts of the world is less promising. The US is still averaging over 50,000 every week whilst India is experiencing unprecedented numbers of cases.

The evidence points to the simple fact that the pandemic is far from over. It remains a looming threat for all concerned. To that end, the biggest service that can be done is to help reduce the burden on the medical staff. As Guardian columnist Clare Wright put it, ‘a pandemic isn’t a war but our healthcare workers are heroes’. By following the guidelines, wearing masks and practising social distancing, frontline workers can be protected and their burden can be lessened, for no one is safe until all of us are safe.

About the Author: James Hingley

James Hingley is a contributing Features Writer with extensive expertise in International Relations, Politics and Culture.