Four in 10 intensive care staff experiencing PTSD

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Nearly four in 10 NHS staff in intensive care units reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the first wave of Covid-19, according to a King’s College London study. Thoughts of self-harm, problem drinking, and symptoms of depression and anxiety were also prevalent among clinical staff who played a major role in treating the sickest patients in the early stages of the pandemic. Intensive care unit and anaesthetic staff in six English hospitals were sent an anonymised web-based survey in June and July 2020. Of the 709 who responded, 45.4% reported signs of poor mental health, including PTSD (39.5%); severe anxiety (11.3%); problem drinking (7.2%); and severe depression (6.3%). The rate of probable PTSD among clinical staff is around nine times that of the rate seen in the general population, the study’s authors say. Some 13.4% reported frequent thoughts of being better off dead or of hurting themselves in the previous two-week period. These feelings were more prevalent among nurses (19.2%) than doctors (7.6%) or other clinical staff (9.5%). The study says: “ICU staff have faced a particularly challenging time frequently working in areas where the risk of Covid-19 exposure is high for long periods, wearing PPE, with the challenges of managing staff and equipment shortages on a daily basis especially during the first wave. “At times this had made it difficult for staff to deliver a normal standards of care. The high rate of mortality amongst Covid-19 patients admitted to ICU, coupled with difficulty in communication and providing adequate end-of-life support to patients and their next of kin, because of visiting restrictions, has been a specific stressor for all staff working in ICU.” It says that stressors including long working hours, childcare, difficulty getting PPE and regular exposure to ethical dilemmas may have als