Psychosocial support to medical teams in SAMUR-Protection Civile during COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an exceptional impact on the health system. The lack of information and resources during the first stage of the outbreak COVID-19 has also meant a change in the way we work and in the way we relate to our relatives, colleagues and, of course, our patients. This traumatic situation, due to its characteristics of total uncertainty, novelty, frequency, and high intensity, made it necessary to develop a new approach to our work, a new psychological approach to the pandemic situation that leads to acute stress, insecurity, unknown consequences, uncertainty about its duration and a desolate future.During the first wave, it was necessary to respond to the new situation. In a first phase, an intervention protocol was created for front-line pre-hospital emergency professionals and a COVID-19 psychological unit was set up in a pandemic hospital in Madrid.In a second phase, emergency actions, their conditioning and possible change due to confinement are analysed; the emotional state of front-line intervention personnel is assessed, comparing the pre- and post-first wave period, and burnout syndrome is studied in the SAMUR-Civil Protection volunteer corps.