A professional association for healthcare workers named V & VN conducted a survey on more than 10,000 people involved in healthcare.
The survey attempted to probe the mental wellbeing of healthcare workers, reports NOS.
Psychological stress
70% of those surveyed reported higher stress than usual due to the coronavirus, with symptoms reported including fatigue, insomnia and a feeling of uncertainty.
Over half of staff in nursing homes and in the GGD report a shortage of protective equipment, especially face masks. Another third of those surveyed report feeling pressured by managers to provide health care without wearing protective gear.
President of the V & VN, Gerton Heyne, called the results of the survey “harrowing”. He stated that healthcare staff are experiencing a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. “The question of whether they themselves pose a danger to their patients is eating them alive. That is an enormous emotional burden.”
Amendment to RIVM guidelines
The association wants an amend to the RIVM guideline on protective gear outside of hospitals, which they believe is based on a mentality of scarcity.
“When caregivers come into contact with someone who is coughing and sneezing in the chair, according to the RIVM guideline they do not have to wear a mouth mask if they keep a meter and a half away.” said Mr Heyne in the NOS Radio Journal 1.
While care homes and hospitals could now have the necessary protective equipment, Heyne expressed his doubts about that.”If there are indeed sufficient resources, I can only conclude one thing: those resources may have arrived in the Netherlands, but have not yet been delivered to their destination. I call on the government and employers to ensure that they are with nurses and carers end up.”
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