Covid-19 adding to 'high level of psychological distress' for healthcare staff, medics warn

Healthcare professionals are already exposed to high levels of burnout in Ireland. The coronavirus pandemic is likely to make this worse, a new article has warned. File Picture.

Medics have warned of a "high level of psychological distress among healthcare staff" due to the Covid-19 virus and pre-existing issues, such as burnout, in the Irish healthcare system.

In an article published in the Irish Medical Journal, medics led by Fiona McNicholas, Professor in Child Psychiatry at University College Dublin and Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Our Lady's Children Hospital Crumlin, compared the difficulties faced by healthcare workers during the Sars epidemic in 2003 and said the current coronavirus outbreak was likely to exacerbate those problems.