Symptoms of depression – 42.6% of doctors / Article

Family doctors are the ones who are more likely to experience anxiety and depressive symptoms, according to a study conducted by Riga Stradins University (RSU).

The mental health of medical staff is closely linked to the quality of health care. Due to the shortage of medical specialists even before the pandemic, the mental health of doctors has deteriorated due to increasing workload, working in physically demanding conditions and seeing patients die.

The circle of respondents of the study includes doctors working in the largest and regional hospitals in Latvia, as well as the staff of the Emergency Medical Service and general practitioners. Since April last year, more than 800 physicians have been surveyed every 3 months throughout Latvia.

A study on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the mental health of medical staff last year, with the onset of a pandemic, depressive symptoms were recorded in every fourth physician surveyed throughout Latvia. In March of this year, it was mentally difficult for almost half of Latvia’s doctors, nurses and sanitary workers to do their job. At the beginning of the summer, the situation improved slightly, and the number of doctors suffering from depressive symptoms decreased to about one in three.

“If we look at the fourth round of the study, which was conducted in March this year, the highest proportion of depression and anxiety symptoms is in GPs – more than 50% had depression symptoms; inpatient and NMPD – about 40%, said Laura Valaine, a lecturer at the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, RSU, adding:

“It’s a high proportion working on the brink of exhaustion and constant anxiety.”

Researchers mention that the worst situation was in February this year, when depression was found in 43% and anxiety in 29% of respondents.

Doctors will no longer be able to cope with it for a long time, the author of the study emphasized.

Overwork, giant fatigue, and work on the verge of burnout mean that sometimes the doctor is not responsive and happy, but annoyed and disinterested in caring for the patient. Due to his mental health, he is not able to provide the quality of care that the patient needs.

“Doctors themselves need help now. If we talk to colleagues, they say – either I was not released on vacation this year, there was no such opportunity in the summer, or they say that I was on vacation, but after the vacation I had to work for myself and other colleagues who went on vacation, so this leave effect is gone. And a lot of doctors are really very tired, ”said RSU professor Gunta Ancāne.

Liene Cipule, the head of the Emergency Medical Service (NMPD), also pointed out the problems earlier, also in the LTV program “Today’s Question”: “Our system has not rested or recovered from the previous wave. We have been working all summer long in very difficult and high-load conditions, in the profiles that had to be arranged. Because public health has suffered greatly from previous decisions when diagnosis and planned treatment were not available. And now, against this background, we are being told that we need to be ready for an even larger number of patients, but we are already seeing that we cannot be ready for that. ”

In addition, the hospital occupancy forecast, which estimates 1,500 filled Covid-19 hospital beds by the end of October, is a huge medical concern. By filling the maximum number of available beds in the autumn, the pressure on medical staff will become almost unbearable.

To improve the mental health of physicians, researchers recommend thinking about legislation that protects physicians. Also, in order for doctors to be able to do their job in the quality they are trained in, medical institutions must have a sufficient number of staff and a balance between work and rest.

Being able to provide all the necessary medical staff, the existing doctors will have the opportunity to relax more fully, to attend, for example, a course of psychotherapy or rehabilitation. But in reality, job search sites have dozens and even hundreds of vacancies in the medical field. Specialist physicians, family physicians, nurses, and paramedics are invited to work in almost all hospitals and many medical centers throughout the country.

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