The arrival of COVID-19 brought with it many more challenges than the disease itself. The pandemic has had implications as serious as the death of almost a million people in the world and the suffering due to the loss of a loved one with the concomitant complications in the development of grief. To all this a new problem has been added; medical suicide.
The case of José Rodolfo Cortés Badillo
The obstetrician-gynecologist José Rodolfo Cortés Badillo, 77, jumped from the window on the fourth floor of the Puebla Hospital. Where he had been hospitalized for COVID-19. He died instantly when he fell from a height of 15 meters.
The events occurred around 3 pm this Tuesday, in the private hospital located in front of the area known as Angelópolis. Witnesses called 911 after the man desperately ran to the window and threw himself into the void.
He died of a severe head injury
Elements of private security from the hospital reported the fall and ran to the parking lot to see the patient. Who died of a severe head injury.
The man who jumped from the 4th floor at the Puebla Hospital died of craniocephalic injuries. He jumped when diagnosed by #Covid-19. He was a recognized doctor in the community of the College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians of the state of Puebla AC#CommunicationEffect pic.twitter.com/hNTHZ2Snyv
– EfectoComunicacion (@ EfectoComunica2) September 7, 2021
While waiting for the arrival of elements of the Attorney General’s Office and state police to cordon off the area, pending the removal of the body. This one was covered with a blue blanket.
This is the first case of suicide of a patient with COVID-19
According to the portal pueblaenlínea.com, this is the first case of suicide of a patient with covid-19 reported in Puebla.
He highlighted that sources informed Cambio that the suicidal doctor, with 35 years of experience in obstetrics and gynecology, had been hospitalized for two weeks for COVID-19, and entered into crisis when he believed that his health would not improve.
Last weekend, 1,281 new cases of coronavirus and 50 deaths were registered in Puebla. In addition, 109,316 people from Puebla have been infected and a total of 14,131 deaths have been recorded in the state.
COVID-19: Mental illness
A study published on the Medscape portal in 2018 concluded that doctors have twice the risk of committing suicide than the rest of the population.
This is an alarming statistic that remains valid to this day. It is also a global problem that is present in health professionals around the world.
Suicide of doctors in Mexico
In Mexico in 2020 and so far in 2021, suicide has been reported linked to the pandemic caused by Covid-19 and, particularly, to confinement and its associated elements.
The content of Vol. 32 No. 1 (2021) of the Anahuac Journal of Medicine and Ethics gives us a glimpse of these data. Starting by remembering that the profession of doctors has been considered for some years as one of the professions with the highest risk of suicidal behavior.
The burn out syndrome
The above, due to work overload, job demands, the tendency to manifest burn out syndrome. As well as the difficulties in having adequate means to carry out the requested activities
During the pandemic, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts have increased. And unfortunately, so have completed suicides.
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