Frontline casualties: Australian health system ‘collapsing’ under weight of Covid-19

Australia’s health and emergency service staff are facing a crisis unlike any other which is pushing them to the brink.

Australia is facing an unprecedented shortage of health and emergency service workers in the years ahead unless something is urgently done to help address burnout, a psychologist has warned.

And two Australian studies have shed a disturbing light on how alarming conditions are for doctors and other frontline health and emergency workers – and pointed to serious future workforce issues.

Psychologist and author Sharee Johnson said the nation’s health system was in crisis, with workers sacrificing their own needs to care for others. 

“The Australian health system is collapsing because of the pressure from the pandemic, the system is in crisis,” she said.

“People are leaving due to absolute fatigue, burnout and post trauma.”

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) did a survey of its members, which revealed 87 per cent were concerned about burnout.

Ambulance workers are among those under the pump because of Covid-19. Picture: John Grainger

Additionally, 76 per cent were concerned about an increase in Covid hospital admissions, 82 per cent were concerned about reduced capacity to address non-Covid hospital admissions, 81 per cent were concerned about delays in screening leading to exacerbations of other medical conditions, and 62 per cent said they were concerned about their risk of infection.

One in five said they had been concerned about the risk of their own death.

Releasing the survey results in November, RACP president and respiratory physician Professor John Wilson said dealing with Covid had reduced the hospital system’s capacity to manage the normal range of non-Covid hospital admissions.

“Too many doctors are suffering from sheer burnout and exhaustion, and continued Covid-19

hospitalisations are putting an additional burden on the hospital system that needs to be

addressed,” he said.

A separate study from Charles Sturt University (CSU) showed the pandemic was having a deep impact on Australia’s first-responder community.

The study of more than 1500 first responders – including police, paramedics, child protection and community health personnel – highlighted significant pressures around increased workloads, and a compounding anxiety related to a constantly changing work environment, access to personal protective equipment and a lack of clear communication and information.

ICU staff face extreme pressure as they care for Covid-19 positive patients at St Vincent's Hospital in NSW. Picture: Kate Geraghty

Worryingly, the study found the rate of depression and anxiety was more than twice that found in the general population.

Findings revealed the burnout rate in frontline workers was twice that reported in similar occupational groups prior to Covid-19.

Charles Sturt Professor in Leadership and Management with the School of Business, Russell Roberts, said he had expected to see negative mental health impacts, but not to the extreme and disturbing levels revealed in the data.

“We thought there would be additional stressors but we were alarmed by the levels of burnout,

depression, anxiety and intention to quit,” he said.

The data revealed extremely high levels of “intention to quit”, which would have serious implications for a post-Covid-19 world.

“The impact will be that people won’t want to work in these jobs anymore, and we will have a workforce shortage crisis in these critical community service organisations” Professor Roberts said.

“There’s just so many people hanging on by their fingernails.”

TIPS FOR COPING

Author and psychologist Sharee Johnson. Picture: Supplied

Sheree Johnson’s tactics for managing as a health or frontline worker

1.SAY out loud how it really is for you. The days of a “stiff upper lip and keep going” are over – it’s not working. Even if it something really simple, like, “This is really hard, I don’t think I can do this anymore”. If you can’t say it to a loved one, friend or colleague, say it to the dog or cat – or even the mirror.

2. PRIORITISE sleep.

3. MAKE time to eat healthy food and drink lots of water.

4. MOVE your body. It can be any kind of gentle movement, like sitting down and stretching

your legs, that’s’ different from the movement you do during the day.

5. MEDITATE. Even if it is one deep breath in and exhalation, every hour or every half-hour.

Focus on the breath.

The Thriving Doctor – How To Be More Balanced And Fulfilled Working In Medicine

Publisher: Hambone Publishing

RRP $32.99

Originally published as Frontline casualties: Australian health system ‘collapsing’ under weight of Covid-19