Burnout in healthcare fields will hinder response to fourth wave: Gardner

The fourth wave of COVID is headed for battered shores. 

After three waves and more than 18 months of restrictions to daily life, business, and activities, the toll taken on everyone, including healthcare professionals will make it harder to respond to the newest wave of the virus, according to the local medical officer of health. 

"The impact of this pandemic on us all, including healthcare workers, has been severe," said Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. "It does undermine our ability to respond to a fourth wave, and that is true in hospitals, elsewhere in the healthcare system, and in public health." 

The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) reported survey results indicating 75 per cent of Ontario's physicians have experienced some level of burnout this past year. Though burnout in doctors isn't new, the OMA noted it has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.

The region's health unit has been tracking local public health capacity for contact tracing for more than a year and is already seeing a decrease in their ability to follow up with cases. They are racing about 68 per cent of new cases within 24 hours, and about 69 per cent of close contacts within a day. This is after five weeks of case counts increasing week-over-week. 

"I am concerned as we enter into this fourth wave [the burnout] may make it very difficult for us to respond effectively, and I'm not alone in these concerns," said Gardner. 

He urged healthcare and public health professionals to remember the province has come a long way, even if it has been a long pandemic. 

"We might be facing a fourth wave that could be severe, but the work we've done to date will mitigate it greatly," said Gardner. "All the people that are immunized have a much lower risk of contracting COVID-19 or having a severe case of it, or passing it along to others, and we just wouldn't be where we are today if it weren't for their collective work." 

The health unit has had help from about 500 volunteers to run its vaccination clinics in Simcoe County and Muskoka. About 73 per cent of the region's eligible population is fully vaccinated. 

Gardner acknowledged there's also burnout among members of the general public who have been under varying degrees of restrictions since March 2020.

Mask mandates remain in place, as do regular reminders to wash your hands often, and self-monitor for symptoms of illness, then to self-quarantine if symptoms develop. 

As much as the fourth wave will need healthcare professionals ready to respond, Gardner said it will take cooperation from the public too. 

"We are going to need as many [health professionals] as we can retain to be able to respond," he said. "So it's really part of the appeal to us all to do what we can with the remainder of the pandemic and its response."