Mental health issues haunting healthcare workers
Is anyone thinking about their physical and mental wellbeing?
Recent studies have revealed the woeful state of the mental health of our country's healthcare professionals amidst a raging pandemic. Over the last year, doctors and nurses across the country have firmly stood beside the virus-stricken patients at the risk of losing their own lives, and they continue to do so. But this has taken an immense physical and mental toll on many of them which must be addressed. Of the 358 doctors surveyed as part of a recent study, 78.5 percent reported experiencing stress, sadness, sleep disorders, low concentration and self-confidence, and/or difficulty in performing daily activities. Another study has surveyed 547 nurses—of them, more than half were reported to have mild to extremely severe depression and anxiety, and 61.9 percent said they were suffering from "mild to severe psychological impact" due to Covid-19.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, we have lost 154 doctors and 23 nurses to Covid-19, and a total of 5,478 doctors and nurses have been infected, according to Bangladesh Medical Association. It is no surprise that these studies revealed how healthcare professionals are suffering from exhaustion, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and more due to their inhumanly long working hours, the stress of treating critical patients, and the helplessness they feel when they cannot save many of them. The dip in infection rates at the beginning of this year only brought momentary relief as the situation got worse in the subsequent weeks.
It is extremely disappointing that over 10 months have passed since the government announced a daily quarantine allowance for frontline healthcare workers, and that is yet to be received by any doctor, nurse, or caregiver. These individuals are literally risking it all to save us from a deadly virus. Surely, they deserve some recognition from the government and the people? There is an unfair tendency to take the service of doctors and nurses for granted, to brush off their hardship as being "part of the job". But this pandemic has overwhelmed our healthcare system and many healthcare workers have had to go beyond their call of duty to help save lives.
It is the people's responsibility to stay safe from the virus by practising health guidelines adamantly and by being open about their symptoms with doctors. But the government must ensure that these professionals are duly compensated (in every way possible) for their dedicated and much-needed service. The pandemic has revealed that we need more doctors and nurses as well as counselling facilities for those who are overwhelmed by the demands of treating Covid-19 patients. The policymakers must start taking steps to address these crucial issues, which, if left unaddressed, will further weaken our health sector. We must take care of those who are risking their lives to try to save ours.