All members of the healthcare team have been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, but it has been particularly hard on the front-line nurses. During the first wave of the pandemic, there were 255 respiratory nurses who participated in an online survey to assess their levels of resilience, anxiety, and despair. Anxiety and sadness were shown to be more prevalent in younger nurses with less experience, as well as a lower level of resilience. Personal protection equipment, working conditions and the level of care they were able to provide all came up as major issues for participants in the study. Individualized support for staff members is crucial during and after the pandemic, and it should be focused to those who are at greater risk of mental illness.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound influence on the delivery of healthcare, notably in critical care and respiratory care. It is possible that a rise in sick leave among healthcare workers during the initial wave of the pandemic might be due to variables such as the pandemic’s psychological impact and increasing infection rates among staff (Bird et al, 2020). (Lai et al, 2020). When it comes to the mental health of UK healthcare workers, Ford (2020) discovered that more than 80% of participants reported increased stress levels and a third said their mental well-being was bad or worse.
Women (89 percent) and those over 35 years old made up the majority of the 255 participants in the poll (79 percent, mean age 45 years). Some 58% worked in an acute setting, 57% had changed roles because to the pandemic and 48% were performing aerosol-generating techniques, such as spirometry or noninvasive ventilation that entail a greater risk of Covid-19 infection.

20.9 percent of those surveyed reported moderate to severe anxiety, and over 29 percent reported mild anxiety. For depression, 17.2 percent had moderate-to-severe symptoms, which was in line with the national average. 66% were found to have a moderate or high level of resilience, which indicates that individuals may have some of the traits of resilience but they need to be honed further.

According to the survey, 65.5 percent of respondents were concerned about passing on the infection due to their profession. Fewer than half of those polled (45.5%) were concerned about contracting the virus or being fatigued (29.8 percent ). About 28 percent expressed concern over PPE, while 27.8 percent expressed concern about long-term stress.

“Dangerous environment” (ID 79) and “if I will die or if she will die?” were some of the questions asked by one respondent’s daughter (ID 48). It was found that a small number of participants (n=12) expressed “social isolation from family” (ID 103), and an increase in work “impacting on family life” (n=12) (ID 172).

Mental health options were available to many participants, but they hadn’t taken advantages of them, such as self-referral to services, email assistance or signposting to other services, telephone support and counseling services, chaplaincy and huddle/hub meetings, occupational support and webinars.

Depression and anxiety levels were higher than those found in the general population and in general medical practice among the participants (17.9 percent and 20.9 percent, respectively).

Results from this project so far have emphasized the experiences of respiratory unit/area nurses caring for patients during the Covid-19 pandemic’s initial wave. In general, the nurses that answered were resilient and well-versed in the field of nursing. More than half of the participants reported feeling anxious or depressed, and several had trouble providing assistance to their families.

Workers expressed concerns about the working conditions, the availability and supply of personal protection equipment, and the level of care they were able to offer to patients. Overwhelming concerns about the spread of illness and the implications of changing work schedules to accommodate demands from clinical duties caused a great deal of anxiety.

Despite the fact that both formal and informal support was offered, the level of assistance appeared to be variable. Social support systems and organizational and management signposting to resources on self-care that can be used by healthcare workers and their families if necessary are highlighted in this study.