A year ago, researchers from Radboudumc and Erasmus MC showed what were the consequences of the first corona peak on the mental wellbeing of ICU nurses. The high workload then led to a lot of stress and mental complaints such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress with a high risk of dropping out. The ongoing corona crisis and the continuing high workload prompted a repeat of the survey in order to once again map out the impact of the corona crisis.
40 percent of IC nurses now experience mental complaints
Nearly 600 IC nurses from all over the Netherlands took part in the questionnaire survey in October 2021, of which 40 percent experienced anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress. Half of the total number of participating nurses has an increased risk of failure due to work-related fatigue. One in four IC nurses has been unable to work for a period since the corona pandemic, mainly because of physical or mental complaints. A quarter of them are still not fully employed. One in three indicate that they are considering quitting as an IC nurse.
There is a great need for more colleagues
IC nurses want to have more say in the organization of catch-up care and they need more flexible schedules, work in permanent teams and more colleagues on the work floor so that the workload is reduced. They still experience a lot of support from family, friends and their immediate colleagues. However, the perceived support of Dutch society has decreased drastically.
The nurses need more time to recover, the researchers conclude, recovery time that is not there now, and the experienced health problems have increased in the recent period. A continuously high workload due to the increasing number of corona IC admissions has major consequences for the health of nurses and their employability in the long term and therefore for IC care in the future.
By: National Care Guide
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