Discuss mental health disorders among health professionals

Dear Editor,

As individuals who visit health facilities, we are always expectant of being received by medical professionals in very good moods.

These same medical professionals, including nurses, have always been on the receiving end of a backlash for failure to do so.

However, what we often fail, as citizens and patients, to realise is that these medical professionals are also humans who are faced with a lot of stress and burnout, a situation that affects their mental health.

Although there is no data on mental health of health workers in Ghana from the Mental Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), some research statistics could be obtained from some public research.

For instance, a comparative study conducted by researchers at the Volta Regional and Ho Teaching hospitals in August this year revealed moderate and high levels of stress among the nurses in these two hospitals.

Mental health issues among health workers in Ghana is one that is less talked about.

Its negative impact was largely felt during the COVID-19 period, when medical professionals had to work for longer hours. Imagine a nurse who is stressed out and is required to give an injection to a patient.

This is why there is the need for the government and the GHS to address the issue of mental health among medical professionals with all seriousness to avert any negative outcome.

Benjamin Arcton-Tettey,

Accra