The experience of healthcare professionals during the pandemic

Last week the British Medical Association (BMA) published reports on the government’s handling of the pandemic and research asking doctors about their experiences in several areas

See below some of the headline findings:

• 81% of doctors did not feel fully protected during the first wave of the pandemic

“No PPE availability. Failure to acknowledge that speaking singing coughing etc are all aerosol generating procedures, that healthcare staff cannot assess patients without getting close. Therefore, ALL categories of staff should be provided with PPE.” (GP trainee, England)

• 11% of doctors who had developed long COVID-19 had at some point been unable to work full-time or at all, and 51%, while still able to work, nevertheless saw a reduction in their quality of life.

“I have long COVID and have been off work for 12 months, not well enough to fulfil my role as mother to my two young children.” (Consultant, England)

• 95% of doctors and dentists who died from coronavirus in April 2020 were from ethnic minority backgrounds, even though this group makes up 44% of NHS medical staff.

• Doctors with a disability felt less protected than other respondents (41% of those with a disability of long-term condition felt ‘not at all’ protected during the first wave, compared to 36% of those without a disability/long-term condition).

• Between February 2021 and January 2022, the BMA’s counselling service saw a 173% increase in calls compared to the period between February 2019 and January 2020, rising from an average of 200 a month to up to 800 a month at the peak of the pandemic.

“I had to stop working as my mental health was so impacted. I have now resigned and feel I am unlikely to return.” (Salaried GP, Wales)

“And we were expected to mentor, support and teach the junior doctors who were utterly unprepared for death and suffering on this scale. I was unprepared, never mind them.” (Consultant, England)