After two straight months of overtime, consistent fatalities and an abundance of bureaucracy. Many medical workers are seeing a decrease in workload for the first time in those two months, but what happens now?
Biggest problem currently facing medical teams is no longer a concern for equipment, although that remains problematic as well. The biggest problem is that of fear and PTSD concerns. For the first time in their respective careers, they have to deal with and live though an ongoing pandemic that we were not prepared for.
Why are we seeing the fallout now?
Simply put, the apex is hitting most countries right now. We’re seeing the biggest increase in cases coming back negative, but we are also seeing the largest counts of fatalities across the board. With countries like the UK hitting 27,000 deaths and the US expected to total out around 70,000 there are plenty of unexpected situations.
Medical workers are trained to deal with death that is true, but typically not at such a rampant rate. When that is all that you’re surrounded by, it’s easy to see why so many people are just now feeling the effects of that reality.
Loneliness Is a Strong Factor
Added into the mix is the forced distance that front-line medical workers have to subject themselves to. Look at it this way; the people at the biggest risk of exposure cannot risk going home to family on their weekends. They have to effectively suffer through being the only ones that they can talk to and physically see for months. No matter what way you slice it, that would drive anyone crazy.
Virtual calls have seen a massive surge in medical teams. Not only because of the inability to see everyone face to face, but also to ensure that people are staying mentally healthy.
What is the solution?
There isn’t one. Grim as that sounds, it’s the same thing with mental health and war veterans. Ultimately, we can do everything in our power to talk to people, get to the root cause of issues and try to support them as best we can, but there’s no way of telling.
If someone doesn’t want to talk, how do you treat their respective PTSD? You can’t, you have to let them figure it out and just try to support them in their choices.
It is an unfortunate reality, and we dearly hope that these brave men and women will see an increased effort from governments and citizens alike. We owe them a lot for what they put up for these last two months, and what they continue to do for us as the pandemic rages on.
Apex or not, they’re still months away from a well deserved rest. Let’s hope that we can provide enough relief and support to see every one of them through this tough time!
For more updates of health and mental awareness, stay tuned to us here at Scoophash!
