Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) fighting the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic are under enormous pressure, putting them at a higher risk of developing mental health problems and other issues. Aim: To highlight the problems faced by health care providers working during COVID-19 in government and private hospitals of Lahore. Methodology This cross-sectional study was done by collecting data from Services Hospital Lahore, Mayo hospital Lahore, and Shalimar hospital Lahore.Data were collected in 2 weeks from 122 health care providers (HCP) using random sampling.

Results: A total of 97(79.5%) cases had suffered from mental health issues, while self-reported depression, anxiety, and stress were seen in 18(14.8%), 40(32.8%), and 44(36.1%), respectively. There were 110(90.2%) subjects who were worried about the health of their family members. According to 28(23%) subjects, PPE for suspected/confirmed covid-19 patients were always provided, regarding the facility of Covid-19 PCR, 99(81.1%) subjects said it’s available for them. There were 83(68.0%) who told that their educational activities were affected, 72(59.0%) reported that their workload has increased, 51(41.8%) said that new doctors / medical staff has been inducted to handle this pandemic in their hospital and 62(50.8%) told that social distancing is being observed in their ward and emergency department.

Conclusion: This study concluded that the self-reported depression, anxiety and stress were high among doctors, they were afraid about the transmission of COVID -19 to their families and they were also concerned about the provision of facilities like personal protected equipment. Hence the authorities must consider their issues for their safety.

Keywords: COVID-19, psychological issues, safety, transmission