Rapid Response to: Managing mental health challenges faced by healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic

Lombardy region are undergoing the most acute crisis of any area in Italy and Europe in the context of the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. To date, the total number of assessed cases in Italy is 59,138, with 17,885 currently positive cases and 3,456 deaths in Lombardy alone, as of March 22, 2020.1 The first lesson to be learned from these devastating weeks in Italy is that, in times of normality, far more resources should be allocated to promoting health personnel’s mental health, well-being, and preparedness to efficiently respond to psychological emergencies. The magnitude of the stressors that health workers are currently being called to cope with clearly implies that psychological wellness is not an irrelevant or secondary concern. The more health workers are skilled in comprehending and managing their own psychological and emotional states, the more effective they will be in rising to personal and collective challenges both during and after catastrophic events. Consequently, worker burn-out syndromes and significant drops in efficiency will be prevented. Finally, as a second lesson learned, the national and regional health systems need to take responsibility for organizing and coordinating the response to mental health providers’ psychological needs, providing a centralized public service in collaboration with local psychological services, thus ensuring twenty-four-hour psychological support for helpers during the crisis, as well as specialized services in the areas of stress and trauma management.8 To our knowledge, in our own region of Lombardy, such a crucial coordination effort is lacking during the current crisis, with the risk that fragmented and iatrogenic responses will be offered in place of effective interventions. For the immediate future, a culture of psychological preparedness, clear guidelines following IASC recommendations on the COVID-19 emergency, and coordination of efforts by regional and national authorities are urgently required to protect health providers’ mental health at this time of crisis.