Nurses are feeling stressed and anxious than usual in COVID-19 times- Report suggests

A survey report has suggested that almost all nursing staff are feeling more anxious or stressed than usual, with a third describing their mental health as bad in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

It said 33% of nursing staff considered the current level of support provided to health workers on mental health as inadequate.

The survey, by the nursingtimes.net, provided the first snapshot of nurses mental health during the pandemic which has so far killed 21,678 Britons in hospital.

It found that 87% rated themselves as more stressed at work than usual, while 90% said they were more anxious than before the outbreak.

The concerns raised by the health workers were generally, a lack of sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE).

These safety items are vital to reducing the spread of the virus in hospitals and also protect the workers.

One of the respondents said, “If we had the reassurance of testing for the virus and proper protocol in place regarding how to deal with this, then this would help the mental well-being of staff.”

“PPE is a real issue of which government does not want to take responsibility for. We should not have to re-use or compromise on safety to ourselves or that of the patient under any cost,” another said.

More than 100 health workers are reported to have died in the United Kingdom alone after catching the virus, and nurses lamented that dealing with the death of patients who were unable to be seen by relatives due to social distancing was also distressing.

One respondent working on a COVID-19 ward said, “The deaths are very hard. Sometimes no family members have been able to come either.”

Around 35% also said they were drinking more than usual to cope with the situation. However, 10% said they were drinking less and 30% noted that they did not drink alcohol.

The findings is expected to inform a new Nursing Times campaign called COVID-19: Are you OK?

The campaign is to ensure that supporting nurses’ mental health is firmly on the radar of employers and the government.

Launched on April 8, 2020, the campaign seeks to highlight the mental health pressures and needs of nurses during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

It will also act as a platform to lobby for immediate and long-lasting support.

The research follows the publication of a Chinese study which found a third of medics responding to the outbreak in China suffered insomnia.

Staff who experienced sleeplessness were also more likely to feel depressed, anxious and have stress-based trauma, according to the paper published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

The results were based on self questionnaires undertaken by 1,563 medics online between January 29 and February 3 at the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic in China.

In Ghana’s case, the Ghana Psychological Association has set up a counseling session for individuals or health workers who may be going through some form of anxiety.

The COVID-19 cases in Ghana, as of April 23, stood at 1,671 with 16 deaths and 188 recovered patients.