Civic hospital, which treats the maximum number of Covid patients, says the pandemic has inflicted a huge emotional toll on its doctors
Treating Covid patients has left doctors anxious during the pandemic. Representation pic
If the Covid-19 pandemic stretched the city’s health infrastructure, it also inflicted a huge emotional toll on doctors and other hospital staff. It was for the first time, resident doctors from microbiology or pathology had to break the news of patients’ deaths to their kin that left them anxious and stressed. To help its healthcare professionals tackle this new challenge, civic-run BYL Nair Hospital has taken the initiative of forming peer support groups.
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A designated Covid-19 facility of the corporation, Nair hospital has been treating the maximum number of patients since the outbreak last year.
“It has been more than 15 months since the pandemic started and we are aware that across the globe, healthcare professionals are facing burnout and distress. At Nair hospital, we were conducting focus group discussions with residents to understand what was going on in their mind and the impact of Covid-19 on them. That’s when they requested we have it for others,” said Dr Henal Shah, professor, a psychiatrist from the hospital.
She said they will have 9 to 12 resident doctors who will be trained for peer support groups. “The group will act as a non-judgemental place where you can talk to people, vent your emotions and get emotional support. It isn’t therapeutic or a doctor treating you. It is the support you get in these difficult times,” explained Dr Shah.
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Dr Shah added that once these doctors are trained, the psychiatry department will help them form groups of 8 to 10 people from different specialties. “The idea is sharing your stories. When you share your stories you develop deep personal bonds. The bottom line of such peer groups is to understand the person beyond work hours,” said Dr Shah.
Under the initiative, there will be 20-30 minutes of physical or Zoom meetings to talk about resilience, looking after self, gratitude, self-compassion, and how to improve coping.
Dr Shah said while medicine has been the toughest profession to be in, in the pandemic where doctors are away from home, facing a lot of distress, they aren’t reaching out for help.
“In informal discussions, people have mentioned issues. The peer support group is aimed at addressing these issues and making them more resilient and mentally strong to cope with uncertainty and change,” said Dr Shah.
‘Some cry every day’
Talking about the stories that came up during informal talks, Dr Shah said there were residents who confessed that they would cry every day after going back to their room. “They cried because they never saw so many deaths. They saw people dying without their loved ones around. They found it difficult to break the death news to their loved ones. A microbiologist or a pathologist has never seen death so closely or faced such situations. It is tough for them and they are bound to get distressed,” said Dr Shah.
Apart from these issues, resident doctors are also facing issues like exam issues, relationship troubles, family problems and fear of contracting Covid-19.
Despite the gloom, Dr Shah said, there has been a bright spot. “An orthopaedic doctor became friends with a pathologist while working together. Barriers of communication were broken. They started talking beyond patients. We wanted to cement this bond and decided to have peer groups.”
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No. of members in each support group
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