New strategies must be introduced to prevent healthcare workers getting burnt out, experts have warned.
A report by the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) – Burnout in healthcare: risk factors and solutions – identifies burnout as a “psychological syndrome” with symptoms such as emotional exhaustion, feelings of cynicism, detachment from the job and a sense of ineffectiveness which can have “serious implications for organisations and patients”.
The report said current initiatives aiming to reduce the risk of burnout focus on the individual, but more can be done when it comes to prevention.
It has called for intervention at different stages throughout the healthcare sector, which includes ensuring workloads are manageable and adequate support is available to staff, as well as training managers in wellbeing.
It also said more should be done to improve workers’ ability to cope using stress management tools and called for more focus on treating burnout and encouraging a safe return to work.
