Healthcare workers warn about a hidden “third wave” as cases of mental illness surge before Christmas

Loading

The surge in elderly care staff seeking help comes from a survey of approximately 400 Victorian mental health workers, including psychiatric nurses, psychologists and social workers, from the Health and Community Services Union survey. It depicts the difficult situation of. Stress, malaise, anxiety.

“What we are seeing now is the shadow of the third wave of the pandemic,” Ray said.

“The number of physical cases has declined and it is now important to deal with the aftermath of what has happened and this growing mental health crisis. People use adrenaline all year round and now all of it is huge. I’m just processing it. “

Glen Taylor, CEO of Victoria’s Nursing and Midwifery Health Program, is flooded with cases of mental health-stricken nurses after working over fatigue during a pandemic. He said he did.

“Often they were the last to see the dying person separated from the family in elderly care, so it’s a big responsibility and it comes at a cost,” Taylor said.

“We are nurses 8 to 10 hours a day. The rest of the time we are mothers, daughters, partners, caregivers … and like everyone else, they manage homeschooling. , Supporting loved ones who have lost their jobs. “

The impending crisis among healthcare professionals is part of a wider range of problems in post-blockade Victoria. Sunday era A pandemic is revealed, and the state’s long-term blockade has created a wave of devastating eating disorders for teens and young adults, providing overwhelming service demand for treatment, wards and emergency rooms. Leaked into.

Ray said he had treated an increase in the number of young people with mental illness for the first time. Even those who have never experienced mental health problems are “situations” caused by losing their jobs or disrupting their lives during a pandemic in the western suburbs of the city where he works. I was working on a “crisis”.

Ray said the holiday season was constantly exacerbating mental health problems and expected a wave of people seeking support over the next three weeks.

“We expect things to get worse as we get closer to Christmas. Christmas has always been a very difficult time for people,” he said.

Approximately 86% of respondents to a health services union survey said they observed increased stress levels in their colleagues, 75% had excessive workload during the pandemic, and approximately 55% were unsafe at work. I said I felt.

Northern Health psychiatric nurse Turay Turcan said he had observed a nasty surge in substance use, self-harm, and suicidal ideation patients coming to the emergency department.

“There are people who have never experienced the problem of substance abuse,” she said.

“The levels of their stress and anxiety are so high that they increased their drug or alcohol intake to cope. Many years of bipolar because they couldn’t get regular support. People with disability or schizophrenia worsened during the pandemic. “

Loading

Paul Healey, state secretary of the Health and Community Services Union, said healthcare professionals are more susceptible to post-traumatic stress.

He also found that hospital staff are increasingly required to press extortion buttons or call police to deal with mental health patients suffering from severe illness or upset. I made it clear.

“This significantly increases the risk of violence, as these people are desperate and do not receive the necessary care,” Healy said.

“Not only are staff suffering from workload, but more and more patients are showing acute illness after delaying pandemic treatment. This is exacerbated by a significant lack of mental health beds. I am. “

Victoria’s Mental Health Minister James Merlino said the government has invested a record $ 869 million in mental health this year’s budget.

“If our current situation shows us something, it means that reform of our mental health system is more important than ever,” he said.

“That’s why we acted swiftly to strengthen our ability to grow clinical mental health services.

“But obviously we need to do more. Our mental health system is broken. That’s why we have a Royal Commission on this issue.”

Healy has a vacancy of about 450 mental health nurses in Victoria, forcing some healthcare professionals to take stress leave this year, but instead of continuing to work in this area. He said an increasing number of older mental health workers are choosing to retire early.

During the second wave of the state, a high rate of COVID-19 in health care workers closed the entire ward, and doctors warned that mental health cases exceeded the announcements of all other hospitals in the emergency department. He left behind a Victorian citizen with severe mental illness for several days.

The cracks in Victoria’s healthcare system were re-exposed in September. A 32-year-old man at risk of mental health The episode was presented in the emergency department of Northern Hospital in Eping and waited more than 19 hours before admission.

The hospital glass door was broken by a man whose family revealed he was bipolar, and police were called in. A disturbing video footage later showed a man allegedly beaten by a police car before his head was trampled by a police officer. Anti-corruption observers in Victoria are investigating the actions of two police officers. A senior police officer was stranded in the incident.

Victorian secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick of the Australian Federation of Nursing and Midwives said the effects of the pandemic were “unquestionably cruel” to many health care workers.

“They have been stressed for their patients, their families and themselves,” she said. “Mental health impacts can be delayed for some healthcare professionals and for those who have worked in healthcare and private housing elderly services that have treated patients with COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19. It can be the maximum. “

If you have problems with this report, or if you are experiencing a personal crisis, call Lifeline 131 114 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636, or visit lifeline.org.au or beyondblue.com.au.