Why half my colleagues are struggling

MORE than half of health and social care workers are suffering psychiatric disorders because of the pandemic, according to research conducted by UCL and published this week. Fear of catching the virus and the initial lack of PPE are thought to be contributing factors.

I also wonder if it’s down to the sudden and dramatic changes in their working patterns.

I remember, myself, feeling very disconcerted and stressed when, one Monday morning just before the first lockdown, we were all ushered into a meeting room and told our jobs were changing. There and then we were all redeployed across the entire trust — many of us doing jobs we’d never done before and didn’t feel confident in, and working with people we didn’t know, often in different areas.

Everything was suddenly thrown up in the air. Not only was it scary because of the virus, as many of us were put on wards with Covid patients, but our routine and structure were suddenly taken away. It was undeniably stressful and while most of us adapted, there were some colleagues who really struggled.