The Importance of WorkPlace Wellbeing for our Health Care Workers

Our nurses, doctors and other health care providers work extraordinarily hard under normal circumstances, but during the current COVID-19 crisis, they are working under extreme conditions with severe physical, mental and emotional demands. Across the globe, our superhuman nurses and doctors are working tirelessly to help us get better, facing 24-hour, 48-hour or even longer shifts. Nurses, doctors and emergency response personnel are on their feet for hours a day, almost every day of the week. Could you even imagine being on your feet for so long? Because I CANNOT.

Now more than ever, we need to do everything we can to keep our healthcare workers healthy. In addition to providing the proper personal protection equipment, the focus needs to be placed on their wellbeing to avoid exhaustion and a weakening of their own immune systems from overwork, lack of sleep, stress, and emotional strain, that would otherwise make themselves more vulnerable to infection, prone to errors, burnout or absenteeism and therefore causing additional staffing shortages in a critical area of fighting the COVD-19 pandemic.

As we look to equip medical and emergency response teams, personal protective equipment should also be accompanied by overall workplace safety, wellbeing, and personal health training with an emphasis on healthy food, ergonomics, exercise, and stress management, so that staff can build the resilience—both physical and mental—that is necessary to weather the stress and endless demands during a health crisis. Our healthcare workers are in the front lines We need to make sure our nurses and doctors are at their best and should be treating them like the heroes they are.

As you may or may not have heard, on the 26th March, everyone in the UK leaned out of the doors, balconies and windows at 8 pm to cheer and clap for everyone working in healthcare to show their appreciation and applaud them for their hard work.

Help keep our health care workers healthy by staying at home, and if you do need to go out make sure you respect social distancing rules, supermarket door policies, and wash your hands!

For more on the feel-good #clapforcarers check out the video below:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-52054745/clap-for-our-carers-national-applause-for-coronavirus-health-workers