Abstract
BackgroundThe SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic has extensively challenged healthcare systems all over the world. Many elective operations were postponed or cancelled, changing priorities and workflows in surgery departments.AimsThe primary aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the workload and psychosocial burden of surgeons and anesthesiologists, working in German hospitals during the first wave of SARS-CoV‑2 infections in 2020.MethodsQuantitative online survey on the workplace situation including psychosocial and work-related stress factors among resident and board-certified surgeons and anesthesiologists. Physicians in German hospitals across all levels of healthcare were contacted via departments, professional associations and social media posts.ResultsAmong 154 total study participants, 54% of respondents stated a lack of personal protective equipment in their own wards and 56% reported increased staff shortages since the onset of the pandemic. While routine practice was reported as fully resumed in 71% of surgery departments at the time of the survey, work-related dissatisfaction among responding surgeons and anesthesiologists increased from 24% before the pandemic to 36% after the first wave of infections. As a countermeasure, 94% of participants deemed the establishment of action plans to increase pandemic preparedness and strengthening German public health systems a useful measure to respond to current challenges.ConclusionThe aftermath of the first wave of SARS-CoV‑2 infections in Germany has left the surgical staff strained, despite temporarily decreased workloads. Overall, a critical review of the altered conditions is indispensable to identify and promote effective solutions and prudent action plans required to address imminent challenges.
Highlights
While routine practice was reported as fully resumed in 71% of surgery departments at the time of the survey, work-related dissatisfaction among responding surgeons and anesthesiologists increased from 24% before the pandemic to 36% after the first wave of infections
The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has directly impacted the situation of healthcare professionals and has caused alarming effects on a global scale [1,2,3]
Such measures aimed at preserving sufficient capacities for critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients at intensive care units
Summary
The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has directly impacted the situation of healthcare professionals and has caused alarming effects on a global scale [1,2,3]. Since patients contracting SARSCoV-2 during or after a surgical intervention are at risk of developing severe perioperative complications and have high mortality rates [10], elective surgical procedures were postponed or cancelled in many hospitals, intending to protect patients [10,11,12] Such measures aimed at preserving sufficient capacities for critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients at intensive care units. Numerous surgical procedures that have been postponed will have to be performed between COVID-19 waves or later on [13] After infection surges, this will likely result in increasing workloads for surgical departments without the possibility of compensating these challenges by additional staff [14]
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