Warnings aged care staff need ‘psychological’ PPE as pandemic goes on – what about the executives?

With rising concerns over the psychological toll of COVID on the workforce and residents, experts are calling for peer to peer support programmes and counselling for staff.

Two Professors from the University of Melbourne have highlighted the concept of ‘psychological’ personal protective equipment (PPE), which involves self-care and resilience training, being just as important as physical PPE like masks and shields, in protecting aged care workers.

Professor Briony Dow from the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) told ABC Radio that this psychological PPE “is crucial to maintain, protect and optimise mental health and wellbeing, in both the short and long term.”

The stress load of the pandemic increases the risk of post-traumatic stress and likely post-pandemic mental health issues too, she added.

“We need to deal with it as they live through it,” Prof Dow said.

This concern extends to the residents in aged care, as many stories about the elderly “who are lonely, celebrating birthdays alone, divided from their loved ones, connecting through glass, or dying alone.”

She recommended psychological education or ‘psychoeducation’ which aims to “focus on the factors contributing to anxiety, compassion, fatigue, stress and burnout, and teach strategies to enhance resilience and wellbeing for the workforce and the elderly residents.”

There has been little to no discussion however of the impact of COVID on the managers and executives.

We know many have been working around the clock since the start of the pandemic – seven months now.

How many may also be in need of support?