Describing the COVID-19 pandemic as a frightening experience for health care workers, one member of the medical fraternity has appealed for greater consideration to be given to providing counselling services for those working in the sector.
Dr. Arlene Blake-McMcCain, a general practitioner, believes the church can also contribute to such an effort that will allow doctors to receive care in a non-judgemental and private space.
“I have always thought that there is an aspect of our healthcare system that needs to be looked at, which is just the wellness of our healthcare professionals. How are they doing? How are they coping? How is their day? That has to be something that is integrated into the system, and it has to be a directive that comes from the Ministry of Health,” said Dr Blake-McCain, a medical doctor and public health consultant.
Several doctors reported being physically and mentally drained during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica. Having to watch patients die daily and then relaying the information to relatives while trying to be there for their own families placed a lot of pressure on healthcare workers. The working hours were long and brutal as the front-line workers had to double and triple up to meet the demand for care while making do with the resources available to deal with a crisis that at times seemed to have no end in sight.
“It was frightening for all,” said Dr Blake McCain, who was instrumental in building the basic science medical programme at the Caribbean School of Medical Sciences, Jamaica at its inception.
“Healthcare professionals are human beings as well and what many may not have looked at is the kind of pressures that health care professionals have been under, during the pandemic, and even pre-pandemic in Jamaica. Under those circumstances, having taken the Hippocratic Oath, heathcare professionals had to act with optimal professionalism and at some point, one would note that that human aspect would always come right through in how we deal with particular situations,” she said.
Dr Blake McCain was one of several panelists during the Freedom Come Rain newspaper Freedom Talk series on Thursday, which sought to explore how the church can contribute to the provision of healthcare services.
“I believe that the church as an institution can facilitate certain programmes within that setting that can help our healthcare professionals. We are talking about mental health, coping with stress, coping with the conditions that we are under. What tends to happen is, we all go to school, we finish medical school, we finish post graduate, we are in the work, we are doing it and we just work, work, work, and there is no time to pause for one to look at oneself, to do introspection,” the doctor stated.
For some in the profession, that introspection does not come until after retirement when things have slowed down. She said the intervention for health care professionals needs to be timely, continuous and persistent. Doctors should be guaranteed confidentiality, similar to what obtains between doctors and patients in the medical setting.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness had officially launched a $75.8-million welfare programme for the island’s public-health workers in October 2020. The one-year initiative was expected to bolster staff well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and to boost morale. The initiative focused on human resource management, psychosocial support, rest and relaxation, COVID support, and wellness.