ICU workers in the UK are experiencing probable PTSD rates during the pandemic comparable to Afghanistan war veterans, a new survey finds

New research by medical experts in the United Kingdom shows that frontline hospital workers had stress levels similar to those in a war zone.

According to the results of a new survey released this month, healthcare workers in intensive care units throughout the UK experienced levels of post-traumatic stress similar to those experienced by soldiers who fought in the war in Afghanistan.

The nurses early on in their careers were found to have had the hardest time with their mental well-being. The survey's findings are based on responses from English intensive care staff before, during, and after the first winter wave of the Pandemic, which erupted in late 2020 and persisted into early 2021.

It suggests a link between poorer mental health among hospital workers and increased functional impairment.

The researchers said that the effects are likely to impact on patient care outcomes and the resilience of the healthcare workforce.

A health crisis.

First responders and hospital workers have had to rush into action many times during the multi-year public health crisis as case counts have ballooned and hospital beds have filled up.

More than two years after the emergence of the novel coronaviruses in China, the world continues to be battered by repeated waves of infections, with the most staggering case counts being recorded during the Omicron surge last month.

The research was posted to the preprint medRxiv server in January and provides another look at the damage done to healthcare workers. They face a growing mental health crisis and a global labor shortage as they face dueling challenges.
In October, The Guardian reported that the UK's National Health Service had over 40,000 vacancies for registered nurses. For the better part of a year, many US nurses have said that exhaustion and frustration caused them to consider leaving the field.
The new survey relied on data from more than 6,000 surveys completed by healthcare workers in 56 intensive care units. Doctors and other healthcare staff made up more than 15% of the survey respondents. The Health Protection Research Unit of the UK's National Institute for Health Research supported their research.

People living with post-traumatic stress can experience long-term side effects.

Researchers have linked the battle against COVID-19 with post-traumatic stress and healthcare professionals before.

More than 22% of healthcare workers in the US developed probable post-traumatic stress disorder last year, according to a survey by the Yale School of Public Health.
The side effects of post traumatic stress disorder can include unwanted flashbacks to the traumatic event, feeling cut off from relationships or depressed about the future, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The authors of the new survey from the UK advocated several solutions to help hospital staff deal with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

Increased communication between clinical leaders and staffs about what they're going through, changing up workers' schedules or reducing their workload were some of the things that were included.