Covid-19: Emergency responders reported increased stress during pandemic

A new report in which 815 emergency response personnel address issues around the coronavirus outbreak also found that 80% said it changed how they interacted with their family.

Emergency responders such as ambulance staff and fire brigade personnel experienced heightened stress and worry at the outbreak of the pandemic, sparked by fears of contracting the disease and passing it onto their loved ones.

A new report in which 815 emergency response personnel address issues around the coronavirus outbreak also found that 80% said it changed how they interacted with their family.

The report, LISTEN: Capturing Learning from the Frontline Response to Covid-19 was written by researchers at the DCU Business School and data was collected between April 30 and May 17 last after the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) agreed to distribute a 58-question questionnaire.

It found 290 participants reported increased levels of worry during the pandemic, often citing multiple sources of stress.

"The recurring theme amongst causes of worry was contracting Covid-19 and then passing it to family, friends, or colleagues," it said.

A lack of facilities and the equipment needed for protection and sanitisation also caused distress, while the government’s response, leadership and taking effective action mitigated some of the issues.

"Participants felt a compelling duty of care to their patients and the public, but less so to their employers," it said. 

"Duty of care to patients created tensions with the duty of care for their families — especially around the increased risk of contracting Covid-19." 

Ethical dilemmas

Also, 29.2% of respondents said they had experienced ethical dilemmas when responding to patients’ needs. One interviewee said: "family not letting us take a sick member to hospital because they will not see them if they die and would like them to die at home, and people who are sick will not come to hospital because they are afraid of getting Covid-19".

A substantial proportion said they did not feel they were providing appropriate care/ treatment to patients when responding to emergencies during the pandemic.

As to issues of concern they may have had during the pandemic, 489 participants responded and 118 referred to lack of PPE, followed by 91 who referred to Public Compliance with Measures. Of the 450 participants who responded as to the one thing they could change about the pandemic response, 118 said lockdown should have occurred earlier. The report was funded under DCU's Covid-19 Research and Innovation Hub.