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Nine in 10 nurses and midwives feel mentally exhausted as result of Covid-19 pandemic

That’s according to new research by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

NINE IN 10 nurses and midwives feel mentally exhausted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

New research by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has found that 85% of nurses and midwives believe their experience of Covid-19 had a negative psychological impact on them. 

The survey, carried out between April and July 2021, gained an understanding of the psychological impact of Covid-19 on nurses and midwives in Ireland with over 1,905 nurses and midwives responding.

The research found that 62% of respondents cared for patients who died of Covid-19. 

68% of nurses and midwives considered leaving the profession as a consequence of Covid-19, with 25% likely or very likely to leave within the next 12 months. 

Nine in 10 (91%) of respondents said they felt mentally exhausted when off duty. Over 90% said they at least sometimes felt mentally exhausted at work and after work. 

Most respondents reported trouble sleeping and high levels of stress and worry. 

22% of respondents contracted Covid-19, of which more than 56% had long-term effects.

“We can’t ignore the fact that two-thirds of nurses and midwives tell us they considered leaving the profession due to the impact of Covid-19,” INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said. 

“Before Covid-19 landed on our shores, we already sounded the alarm that the recruitment and retention of nurses and midwives was going to be something that government and HSE needed to focus on,” Ní Sheaghdha said. 

She added that measures must be put in place “immediately” to support the workforce. 

“Nurses and midwives have been at work in a hazardous environment without reprieve for over 18 months. They must gain relief from the constant overcrowding work situations faced on a daily basis, and fast tracked clinical supportive measures must be put in place,” Ní Sheaghdha said. 

“Occupational health services are simply not available nationwide and many members report long waiting times for an appointment,” she said. 

Ní Sheaghdha added that “over the coming weeks we need to see planned funding for the implementation of safe staffing across the health services, and measures to reduce pressure on hospitals”. 

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
    Favourite Suzie Sunshine
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    Dec 1st 2015, 10:17 PM

    To think there’s a family out there who’s probably been looking for that poor girl for the last twenty years , it’s very sad .

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    Mute MandyTwinkleToes
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    Dec 4th 2015, 4:53 AM

    And what about the disappeared don’t they count?

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    Mute jane
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    Dec 1st 2015, 10:19 PM

    How do you lose a skull?

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    Mute Debbie Duggan
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    Dec 1st 2015, 10:45 PM

    The poor girl,how could she ever rest in peace,no family as yet,buried in a place she probably never knew,from her shoulders down in a coffin and her skull probably in a box in a basement somewhere..such a sad story..your right Jane how do you lose a skull..

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    Mute Carol Keane
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    Dec 1st 2015, 10:57 PM

    My parents were involved in the recovery of the body of a man in the early 2000′s (?) in the Shannon Estuary. That man has never been identified. He was given a state burial in Ennis. Another member of the rescue crew entered a competition on Clare FM a short time after to win a headstone. The competition called for people to write their own epitaph. He wrote one for the unidentified man and won. “All you people of Co. Clare, kneel down here and say a prayer, for the man from God knows where”. Very sad to think that there is no name on that headstone.

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    Mute fusha2020
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    Dec 1st 2015, 11:07 PM

    That made me go cold. What a lovely thing to do for someone and a lovely epitaph.Unclaimed bodies always make me feel so terribly sad, lost souls,some never missed and others never found.

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    Mute Martin Oliver Browne
    Favourite Martin Oliver Browne
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    Dec 1st 2015, 10:30 PM

    With technology and communication being so advanced it is hard to believe this persons family or friends can not be located ..very sad story ..

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    Mute Tosh Lavery
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    Dec 1st 2015, 11:06 PM

    Great and sensitive article.

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    Mute Aisling Brady
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    Dec 1st 2015, 10:16 PM

    another massive Fail for the Irish State – We are good at failure.

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    Mute Maggie
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    Dec 1st 2015, 10:22 PM

    Hardly a fail.sure she cud have come from anywhere

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    Mute Colette Kearns
    Favourite Colette Kearns
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    Dec 1st 2015, 10:40 PM

    Thats the sad thing about stories like this, maybe no family to miss her! Like the lady who’s body was found in the sea in clontarff I dont think she was even identified never mind been missed! We all take it so much for granted that everyone has family! Cherish yours everyday♡♡

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    Mute fusha2020
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    Dec 1st 2015, 11:12 PM

    A pretty epic fail really by forensic standards. No dental xrays,no chance of facial reconstrustion. Plus its just bad form to loose a part of someone,how’d you even do that its not exactly a set if keys!

    51
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