Nurses are guarantors of mental health

by Maria del Mar GarciaAnd head of the Official College of Nursing of Almería and treasurer Spanish General Nursing Council.

Mental health has long been a forgotten area of ​​healthcare. It was the pandemic that made the alarming mental health condition of the population in our country more visible.

In this context, mental health nurses are more necessary than ever, however, for a large part of society and the media, they remain an invisible and unknown figure. On the contrary, their work is essential to the well-being of patients, as they ensure the care and treatment of symptoms, accompanying in the recovery process – which can extend over time – as well as in the acceptance of the disease and the relationship with the nearest environment.

Nurses are the gateway to patients in any mental health unit, as we can teach them to deal with problems, help manage emotions, and little by little improve a depressed state in which a person may find themselves.

Specifically, vocational nurses must be leaders in caring for people in companies, and as guarantors of employee health and prevention, they have an essential role to play in assisting, raising awareness and providing health education in these matters, including, of course, mental health.

Abandonment of the profession

The mental health of nurses post-pandemic is also worrying. A year ago, the group nursing organization conducted a comprehensive survey that showed 85% of nurses had had their mental health affected by the pandemic, and they were even considering leaving the profession.

Among many other statements, the result of long months of exhaustion had very serious consequences for the mental health of these professionals, as a third of them (33%) admit that they have suffered from depression, and 6 out of 10 confirm that they have suffered from depression. Insomniacs (58.6%) and just over two-thirds of them suffer from severe anxiety attacks (67.5%).

Even more worrying is that in studies conducted in 2022 this data has worsened. In April 2022, after a study conducted by an independent society (Navarre), mental health was affected by 83% and 46% of the population considered leaving the profession if they could.

Spain suffers from a chronic shortage of nurses, which threatens the health system and the well-being of a society that is increasingly aging and suffering from chronic diseases, and citizens are in increasing need for care. Really, we can’t continue to mistreat a profession that is essential to the health of the population and to the future sustainability of the health system, we can’t keep a number of professionals light years away from the healthcare needs of the profession, we can’t be so far away from neighboring countries and socio-economic level like the UK or France .