February 3rd – The spread of the novel coronavirus has not decreased, and the United States experienced a nationwide surge in cases in January.
According to U.S. media reports, in the long-term work of responding to the pandemic, many front-line medical staff in the United States have different degrees of psychological problems, and some even “heaps of dead bodies in nightmares”.
CBS News on the 2nd said that at the University of California, Riverside Medical Center outside Los Angeles, a number of doctors and nurses reported psychological symptoms caused by post-traumatic stress.
In response to the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Defense sent 89 medical personnel to help.
U.S. Army nurse Joe Hargrave said he had been working here for more than three weeks and was the third time the Department of Defense sent to assist in the response to the pandemic.” You can see the sick people come here, they can stay awake and vigilant, and talk to you.
Then, their condition suddenly deteriorated, which was difficult for me to accept.” He said that on the first day he came here to work, a patient suddenly died, and the medical staff immediately had to vacate the emergency bed for the deceased’s confirmed wife.
According to the report, Hargrave is plagued not only the impact of the novel coronavirus on patients, but also their families.
In many cases, he is responsible for informing his family of the critical illness or death, and only two family members can visit him.
“If my parents choose who to bring to say goodbye and make such a difficult decision, I really can’t imagine.”
The trauma is not the same as hurricanes, shootings, said Matthew Chang, a hospital’s behavioral health doctor, and “is not a one-time problem, but a repeat.”
In order to deal with the psychological problems of medical staff, the hospital also sent emotional trauma experts to accompany front-line personnel in the intensive care unit and meetings.
Even with the experience they’ve accumulated over the months, COVID-19 has had a big impact on healthcare workers, says Tammy Lowe, the head of critical care.
I know there are a lot of people who often have nightmares.”
“These nightmares are where the bodies of the dead are piled up, and there are so many patients that they can’t handle it,” Lowe said.
