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- Title
SUPPORT FOR GENERAL PRACTITONERS DURING COVID-19.
- Authors
Davies, Mark; Carr, Davina; Dugan, Joe; Hart, Nigel; Kirkpatrick, Ruth; Loughrey, Claire; Loughrey, Paul; O'Neill, George
- Abstract
Background: Evidence of initiatives to support General Practitioners (GPs) during the Covid-19 pandemic is scant. Aim: To understand the impact of a novel method of providing support in the early stages of the pandemic. Design and setting: A mixed-methods study of GPs working in a socially deprived area of Belfast. Method: A survey was distributed to GPs who had attended a series of educational meetings at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey incorporated the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and questions about the virtual meetings. Follow-up interviews were undertaken with five GPs to further explore their lived experiences and their perceptions of the virtual support forum. Results: The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a measurable diminution of emotional well-being in GPs in North and West Belfast. Attendees rated a series of virtual meetings highly and described the following themes (and subthemes): a sudden traumatic change (emotional response, fight or flight, painful reminders of the status of general practice in the NHS); a coming together (stepping up to take responsibility, sharing of information, feeling of affirmation); reflections on what worked (calming facilitation, careful selection of speakers, creating the right atmosphere, ownership and autonomy) and building future direction (defining future direction, capitalising on lesson learned). Conclusion: The virtual meetings harnessed the instinct to come together witnessed at the beginning of the pandemic, and as well as sharing valuable information, also provided emotional support along with a sense of comradeship, ownership and autonomy.
- Subjects
BELFAST (Northern Ireland); COVID-19; COVID-19 pandemic; GREAT Britain. National Health Service; PANDEMICS; GENERAL practitioners; INFORMATION sharing
- Publication
Ulster Medical Journal, 2021, Vol 90, Issue 3, p151
- ISSN
0041-6193
- Publication type
Article