By September 11th there were 650 active cases of Covid-19 and 36 people were hospitalised. Deaths have been increasing sharply since August. Amidst the new wave, frontline personnel - doctors, nurses, hospital staff, ambulance technicians, health inspectors, contact tracers, and police officers, among others - are exhausted. Fatigue, anxiety, and stress have become their norm.

You could hear that stress in the voice of a female hospital worker whose voice note has been circulating wildly in recent days. She lashed out saying members of the public "just do not get it!" and were "doing ignorance" rather than abiding by good sense when it came to Covid safety. Observer’s Shermaine Bique spoke with four nurses anonymously. They admitted to  grappling everyday with anxiety and overwork, with one saying she was ready to quit the profession. 

Another reported that quite a few are no longer showing up for work. One described the hospital as the "Gaza Strip", reporting that Covid patients are scattered around the facility because of space limitations. Home and family life for many has become a ghost of what it used to be for these workers. In this episode, we ask: How is occupational burnout impacting frontline workers, and are there any real solutions?

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on September 12th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.