Nature of work causes burnout in emergency workers at hospitals - Dr Nsiah-Asare

Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Presidential Advisor on Health, has shed light on the critical challenges faced by emergency workers in the respective emergency departments across the country.

According to him, there is the need for collective efforts to address issues of workload, burnout, and resource management.

Speaking at an event organised to celebrate emergency workers, Dr. Nsiah-Asare underscored

Read full articlethe urgency and fast-paced nature of emergency departments, where patients often arrive in critical conditions.

He acknowledged the strain on the staff as the cause for their work burnout.

“Emergency departments are very critical departments who work very fast, patients come in with most of them in critical stages of their lives. So, anybody who is working there has to be on his or her toes and they have to move fast. This means that if you are in an emergency department, you have to always be on the lookout. No matter the amount of staff you put in an emergency department, you will always have workload issues and workload issues will burn down the staff and this is exactly what they are trying to discuss.

“But to do that effectively, there is the need to stand together, support each other. Sometimes in the emergency department, staff have to stay in and help the other people before your own duty is over. When there is an accident or an emergency, we all have to stay together and that leads to burnout," Dr Nsiah-Asare explained.

Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare also highlighted the multifaceted approach required to address the issues being faced by emergency workers across the country.

He acknowledged the crucial role of management in providing the necessary resources, including medication and equipment, to alleviate the strain on emergency departments.

“I am very happy that they are discussing this passionately and making sure that everybody knows what goes on there. A lot depends on they themselve. They have to put themselves together, they don't have to be lazy. We all have to be there to support each other.

“Another bit also has to do with the management, so that they have the resources, medication and equipment to work,” he said.

Dr Nsiah-Asare continued: “The other bit also depends on the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and the government. This is because these are public hospitals and so, we should always make sure that things are working. There is a planned preventive maintenance of all equipment here so that when somebody wants to take an x-ray there, take an ultrasound or MRI, it is easily available. More importantly, you manage the patient’s perspective and especially their relatives.”

The Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), Dr. Emmanuel Srofenyoh, also lauded the vital role of the emergency department.

He explained that there are plans for expansion, aiming to enhance the department’s capabilities to deliver better and more extensive services to the country in the future.

“The emergency department has played a leading role in the hospital and as I said earlier on, this hospital has played a key role when it comes to national disasters. I spoke about the stadium disaster, the circle disaster and many others but the fact that emergencies are well composed and they are very hard working, that has helped us to navigate through all these disasters. And that is why I also commend them so much for the work they do.

“As we move one, we even want to have a stronger emergency department. We are looking at how we are going to have a bigger space, get more staff so that we can deliver better and bigger services to the country,” he added.

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