Patient care work has always been complicated by all the pressure that exists within hospitals. There is never free time and all patients want to be the first to come to the office. At the end of the day, many doctors end up exhausted and burdened. All of this leads to Burnout Syndrome and when left unattended it can have fatal consequences. Therefore, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) implemented a Comprehensive Mental Health Program from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The CEO, Zoé Robledo, pointed out the main actions that were taken. Some were the remote detection of disorders with the updating of online instruments, the integration of screening for the population aged 20 years and over in the PREVENIMSS modules, and the signing of agreements that translate into timely care for workers and beneficiaries.
He recalled that since 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned institutions about the first impacts of the pandemic on medical care, followed by the burden of stress, pain, anguish and despair.
Support to attend to mental health problems in IMSS doctors
He explained that derived from the pandemic, the IMSS incorporated 334 psychologists to the mental health teams to implement an action plan that contributes to the care and promotion of mental health, expand services and guarantee equitable access to treatments offered by Social Security. In addition, this service is available for the beneficiaries but also for the doctors themselves.
In her speech, Dr. Célida Duque Molina, Director of Medical Benefits, indicated that worldwide it is estimated that 450 million people suffer from some disease or have some manifestation in their mental health, and the symptoms can range from sleep disorders to ideation suicide.
He indicated that in the IMSS services, mental and behavioral disorders occupy the seventh place as reason for consultation.
The raw battle that doctors live every day
For his part, the general secretary of the National Union of Social Security Workers (SNTSS), Arturo Olivares Cerda, pointed out that health workers have fought a relentless battle against a silent virus, but whose damage is so visible in patients that have impacted on the emotional health of these workers.
He emphasized that what doctors, nurses, orderlies, laboratory workers and all those who have been on the front line have experienced is a tremendous struggle, with the satisfaction of saving lives, but they have also seen the face of death as rarely.
Olivares Cerda pointed out that it is essential to support the mental health of health workers, it is a critical factor to sustain the response and recovery from COVID-19.
“The damage from the pandemic is advancing, let us not allow more pain. Health personnel have saved thousands of lives, they have kept Mexican society standing in this pandemic. Now we have to support them, support them. Let’s not leave them alone, “he said.
In his message, the secretary of the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS), Álvaro Velarca Hernández, highlighted that the growing number of statistics for mental health problems and insufficient public spending reveals the importance of prioritizing care throughout the continent. and propose new approaches.