Pandemic is causing high stress among SA doctors, study finds

A third of South African doctors surveyed by MPS, the international medical defence organisation, have experienced a decline in mental wellbeing as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses.

The Medical Protection Society, a London-based ‘protection organisation’ for medical and healthcare professionals, says specialist support is needed to avoid “huge swathes” of doctors either leaving the profession or suffering in silence.

Government and private sector must cooperate

It notes that the South African government and private healthcare providers must plan now for the mental wellbeing support the doctors will need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organisation said plans should be supported by all role players to maintain local initiatives such as counselling services, while taking steps to increase awareness and research into mental health and provide more practitioner-wellbeing support services.

Adrenaline will carry them through – up to a point

“Adrenaline will be carrying many healthcare workers through this pandemic and helping them to cope despite the exhaustion and tragedy they experience daily,” said Dr Volker Hitzeroth of MPS.

“It is when the crisis recedes and there is time to reflect that the accumulated stress and trauma may surface – this is the time healthcare professionals will be most at risk and need support.”

Nearly half of US doctors could suffer from PTSD

Internationally, there are similar experiences. In the US, for example, some experts predict that 40-50% of doctors and nurses could ultimately suffer from PTSD due to their experiences during the pandemic.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event, causing flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety.

“Obviously, we don’t know a lot of what’s going to happen once this Covid response is over,” said Meredith Mealer, a professor at the University of Colorado’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute who worked on a study of nurses .

“I would anticipate we start to see nurses and physicians who have PTSD as a result of this up closer to 40-50%,” she said in an article published by the Guardian newspaper.

Fortunately the anxiety may not last long term

But the good news is that the effects may not be long-lasting.

It is normal to experience PTSD-like symptoms right after a traumatic event, said Rachel Yehuda, director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Program at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, but these may not persist.

“There is every reason to believe that, once this is over, most people will not experience the symptoms they are having now,” she said.