It is so easy to overlook the health and well-being of staff in the health service when considering reforms that should make this service financially viable. Although I am not aware of any specific research documentation on the present state of health and well-being of local health carers, I suspect that there are major areas of concern that need to be addressed.
The British government recently commissioned Steve Boorman, a leading occupational health expert, to assess the links between staff habits and National Health Service productivity. His interim review reveals some astonishing facts that we would do well to understand. It is more than likely that our own health carers suffer from the same levels of stress and the consequences that this stress brings about. Here are some of the findings:
The rate of absence for sick leave among health workers in the UK is one and a half times the rate in the private sector.
More than one in five staff smoke, the same as in the adult population despite the first hand experience of the consequences of this among health workers.
One out of three in the healthcare workforce suffers from moderate to very poor mental health with many complaining about bullying from patients and relatives.
About 40 per cent of healthcare workers exercise less than the government's three recommended occasions a week. The survey did not calculate the rate of obesity or abuse of alcohol among healthcare staff but it is generally acknowledged that obesity and alcohol abuse are a real problem in this area.
A spokesman for the UK's largest healthcare union stated: "What this (report) should do is be a wake-up call for making staff health and well-being much more coordinated. We need to identify both the symptoms and the causes and find ways to address them, because a healthy workforce is beneficial for patients and essential for delivering a better health service."
Few would disagree that the environment in which healthcare staff work is indeed stressful. Lack of basic civic education on the part of some patients' relatives, the sometimes understandable but awkward attitude of patients themselves, the pressures caused by under-staffing, and the contagious effect of low morale are just some of the hazards that healthcare staff have to face on a daily basis.
To this one needs to add the rather poor levels of pay, the long hours worked, the lack of physical amenities, and the lack of general appreciation of the value that these people are adding to our society.
I have been promoting the need for a healthcare reform to ensure that it is financially viable so that those who depend on a free healthcare service can be given the treatment they need in full and in a reasonable time. So far, I get the impression that there is little political appetite to handle this hot potato. Our leaders prefer to leave the hot potato of healthcare on the side, hoping that it will cool down. But this potato can only get hotter as the population continues to age and need more health services.
We depend on international organisations like the IMF to remind us that a viable social services system can only be achieved through major reforms that may mean some pain in the short term. In the meantime, we continue to hear of grave social injustices being suffered by those who cannot afford to get private healthcare. They often suffer in silence in a society that has often boasted of its commitment to social solidarity.
The victims of inertia in this sector also include the majority of healthcare staff who have to endure levels of stress much higher than is necessary because few seem to realise the importance of caring for our health carers.
One hopes that the unions that represent these workers take up the cause for reforms that will improve the motivation and well-being of their members. They can start by commissioning a report similar to that compiled by Dr Boorman and publish their findings.
The Maltese public needs to be made aware of the human cost of providing a level of service that we all expect from our healthcare workers. This is at least as important as knowing the financial cost of caring for the sick.
jcassarwhite@yahoo.com