Professional organizations and experts from among the most affected countries in Europe are calling for increased psychological support, especially if a second wave breaks.
“These are all the ingredients for a major risk of post-traumatic stress,” said Xavier Noël, expert on mental health issues at the Free University of Brussels. Those who work in intensive care “have faced a totally unusual death rate and way of dying, in a more dehumanized context, without the presence of families to relieve them on decision-making”.
Alcoholism, depression, post-traumatic stress
Europe deplores nearly 175,000 deaths and more than two million cases. Caregivers who lead the battle to save lives are paying a heavy price.
One of these studies, carried out in early May among 3,300 caregivers in Dutch-speaking Belgium, shows that 15% often think of “leaving the profession” compared to 6% in normal times. Another observes an absence of increase in alcohol during confinement in the population … except in caregivers.
In France, the association Care for health personnel explains that it receives more than 70 calls per day, some of which have “an imminent risk of taking action”.
In Spain, more than 50,000 caregivers tested positive for Covid-19, or 22% of cases reported in the country, according to the Ministry of Health. Anxiety is widespread, according to a study from the University of Madrid, where more than half (51%) of the 1,200 caregivers surveyed have “depressive symptoms”. 53% presented signs “compatible with post-traumatic stress”.
“Urgent psychological intervention is necessary for this group if a much feared second wave materializes,” said study authors Lourdes Luceno Moreno and Jesus Martin Garcia. “We are going to see emotionally damaged professionals and a health system with no response capacity.”
Popular pressure on the heroes of the pandemic
The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan has discovered that seven out of ten health professionals in the most affected regions of Italy suffer from exhaustion, nine out of ten from stress. Many have reported exacerbated irritability, sleep disturbances and night terrors, as well as fits of tears. According to researcher Serena Barello, the usual work stress has been exacerbated by the increased workload, “seriously endangering not only physical, but also emotional and psychological health.”
In the United Kingdom, the second most affected country after the United States in terms of death toll, the only association that provides psychological support, Laura Hyde, explains that she was inundated with calls. “Health workers everywhere were really touched by all the love they received from the public, “said Jennifer Hawkins, one of the leaders of the foundation founded in memory of a nurse who died in 2016.” But the ‘hero tag can sometimes cause extra pressure.’
“The harsh reality of their work has important repercussions on mental health,” she warns. “Healthcare professionals should not suffer in silence, prescribe what they would prescribe to others and ask for help.”
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