Hundreds of UK Medical Staff Attempt Extreme Suicide... "Hard to Shake Off Seeing People Die"

Mental Health Limits of Medical Staff Due to Prolonged COVID-19
322 NHS Medical Workers Attempted Suicide

Photo by Getty Images Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] A warning has been issued that the physical and mental health of frontline medical workers has reached a critical level due to the prolonged spread of COVID-19. In the UK, it was revealed that hundreds of medical workers attempted extreme measures due to stress last year.

On the 21st (local time), the UK media 'iNews' cited a report from the Laura Hyde Foundation (LHF), reporting that a total of 322 people, including 226 nurses, 79 paramedics, and 17 medical students affiliated with the UK's National Health Service (NHS), attempted extreme measures last year.

LHF is an emergency responder support organization established after British nurse Laura Hyde ended her life by suicide in 2016, aimed at supporting medical workers experiencing mental distress. All the medical workers surveyed by LHF had worked on the COVID-19 frontlines, caring for patients in hospital beds during the UK's lockdown policy last year.

Among them, Nurse A (28), working at a hospital in the northwest region of the UK, was deployed to the medical field without any preparation at the time. She treated patients with only four weeks off over the past 15 months.

Medical staff are transporting COVID-19 deceased patients in New York City, USA. / Photo by Yonhap News

In a recent interview with the US media 'The Hill,' A said, "During the pandemic, we felt abandoned. When the first wave hit, I was completely unprepared," and described the situation, "I had never seen so many deaths and suffering people in such a short time."

A confessed to experiencing great mental distress while watching dying patients. She revealed, "I try to shake off the images of people dying alone overnight from my mind."

According to a survey conducted by LHF from March to April targeting 850 NHS medical workers, 71% of respondents said they had experienced mental health issues but did not report them. Reasons for reluctance to report included △not wanting to disappoint colleagues △fear of social stigma, among others.

British medical staff participating in the National Health Service (NHS) applause event / Photo by Yonhap News

Medical workers complaining of hardships on the COVID-19 frontlines is not happening only in the UK.

According to US local media such as CBS News, during April-May last year when COVID-19 rapidly spread in the US, New York City paramedics handled more than 7,000 calls a day and suffered from heavy workloads. Many of them also reported PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Liam Vines, chairman of LHF, emphasized, "We are entering a new pandemic of mental health problems among workers on the frontlines of national emergencies," and stressed, "We must help them."

※If you have difficult feelings such as depression or know family or acquaintances experiencing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour professional counseling at suicide prevention hotlines ☎1577-0199, Hope Phone ☎129, Life Phone ☎1588-9191, Youth Phone ☎1388, etc.