Medical staff in Ho Chi Minh City are depressed and anxious after the Covid-19 epidemic

On the morning of March 18, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health shared a model of a hospital that has helped medical staff overcome the syndrome causing depression, exhaustion and anxiety caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, in October 2021, Hung Vuong Hospital (HCMC) conducted a survey on 466 medical staff. The results showed that 23.6% of employees showed signs of depression, anxiety was 42.9%, stress was 17.6%.

This is the period when the Covid-19 epidemic is still very stressful in Ho Chi Minh City.

Analyzing the causes, the hospital found that 57.5% of its staff had experienced many events such as witnessing the death of relatives and friends due to Covid-19; 53.6% of employees feel they are discriminated against because of working in a medical environment; 70.2% of employees said that relatives lost their jobs…

A medical staff in Ho Chi Minh City at the hospital treating Covid-19 during peak times.

This is an unprecedented situation. A series of hospital medical staff fell into “Burned-out” syndrome. It is a physical and mental breakdown caused by work overload and stress.

Facing the above situation, Hung Vuong Hospital has implemented a program to improve mental health for medical staff. The objective is to screen, detect mental disorders early and intervene, protect and take care of mental health for medical staff.

The hospital held 28 talk sessions with psychologists for staff. After that, compiled and published the “Psychology Handbook”, compiled 14 Vietnameseized video clips with brief content for employees to practice at home on emotional lifting exercises.

Up to now, Hung Vuong Hospital has said that the hospital’s medical staff has “won” the “burned-out” syndrome caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. As for the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, the above model is one of the creative ways, which should be introduced and replicated.

During the pandemic, medical staff have suffered from fatigue, stress, many people are exposed, the rest have to work with many times increased capacity. Working environment is isolated, in a stuffy, stressful atmosphere, every day facing seriously ill patients, patients who have lost both mother and child (Hung Vuong Hospital is a maternity hospital).

Emergency treatment for Covid-19 patients in Ho Chi Minh City.

The syndrome that appeared in physicians was first described in 1974 by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger.

This is a very specific job-related syndrome of health workers, consisting of 3 main symptoms.

Burnout: A feeling of lack of energy or fatigue due to one or more factors in the energy, emotional, and mental domains. Common physical symptoms such as stomach and intestinal pain.

Skepticism: find their job increasingly stressful and frustrating, lose the ability to empathize and connect with patients, staff, and colleagues, even blame, or feel guilty.

Reduced work efficiency: find it difficult to concentrate, not listen and lack creativity.

Linh Giao