Coronavirus: Doctors and nurses will need PTSD treatment after Covid-19 virus peaks in hospitals, warn health leaders

Doctors and nurses will need treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder after working in harrowing conditions on wards during the coronavirus crisis, health leaders warn.

The strain on their mental and physical health is already unprecedented and the virus has not yet reached its expected peak, they say.

NHS staffing is at levels that were previously unthinkable as workers – forced to spend hours in hot conditions while wearing full protective gear – try to keep up with demand amid a lack of equipment.

It comes as the head of intensive care at London’s Royal Free Hospital described in a memo how most units had already shifted from the usual one nurse to one patient ratio to one to six and were running out of key machines and equipment.

Dr Alison Pittard, dean of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, told The Independent: “I am really concerned about the toll this is taking and will continue to take on staff."

“We are used to dealing with emergencies, but we have never been exposed to this sort of demand. We know staff are already struggling physically and mentally and that this will only continue."

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 6 April 2020