Mental health is the backbone of health and healthcare, but for staff working in healthcare, the job comes with additional stressors rooted in systemic oppression and racism. This toxic environment not only undermines healthcare workers professional efficacy but also compromises the quality and efficacy of the care they provide, and outcomes of those receiving care; especially when the practitioners themself are Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) or of the Global Majority (GM). The compounded stress from Racial Trauma detracts from their ability to perform optimally, ultimately affecting the entire healthcare system and health of staff. This has been confirmed in the NMC’s Independent Culture Review by Nazir Afzal.
Let’s be entirely clear here, Racial and Secondary Trauma, are closely linked with PTSD. These are not just words being banded around to provoke thoughts, they are real, cut deep, and must be addressed as a matter of urgency to improve the health of people working in healthcare. After years of austerity we can identify racism across every helping profession in the UK i.e. healthcare, education, policing, probation, social care, etc. All people working in these helping professions have been exposed to this on a grand scale, in addition to restrictions imposed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic; which has effected the BIPOC and GM community greatly in every way imaginable.
The Causes of Racial Trauma
1. Constant Discrimination and Microaggressions: BIPOC and GM healthcare staff face ongoing battles with discrimination, microaggressions, and institutional racism. Some of these are born from unconscious biases or misunderstandings about cultural differences, while others stem from blatant oppression based on false historic beliefs and fears.
2. High Emotional Demands: Health workers not only witness severe distress caused by racism and oppression but also manage their own and colleagues’ racial trauma too. These multiple burdens amplifies their emotional strain and makes their work environment tirelessly challenging.
3. Lack of Support: There are often limited resources and a culture that overlooks the unique challenges faced by BIPOC and GM staff and people who they support. Reflective and clinical supervision spaces may feel too limiting, preventing contributors from expressing themselves freely due to fear of judgment or repercussions.
The Effects of Racial Trauma
These stressors can lead to many negative outcomes for healthcare staff, especially for BIPOC and GM staff who also experience the effects of generational and ancestral trauma. Here are just a few examples of these effects:
1. Emotional Exhaustion: Constant exposure to racial trauma can drain emotional reserves, leading to a feeling of being perpetually exhausted and unable to cope with daily demands.
2. Physical Health Issues: The stress of dealing with racism can keep people in a state of high alert (fight, flight, freeze, or fawn) which creates acute and chronic physical injury and illnesses, resulting in conditions like headaches or migraines, high blood pressure, body pain, adrenal fatigue, inflammatory responses, and a weakened immune system.
3. Decreased Job Satisfaction: Experiencing and witnessing racism at work reduces job satisfaction and increase turnover rates. Staff may feel undervalued and unsupported, leading to a desire to leave their positions or healthcare entirely. When surrounded by systemic racism upon racism, staff do not have enough time to allow their body to recover, even when taking annual leave, meaning many effectively prolong and intensify they illnesses or take long periods of sick leave too.
4. Bullying and Harassment: Racial trauma can create an environment where bullying and harassment are more likely to occur, further exacerbating stress and mental health issues. This can create cliques of staff creating difficulties through entirely organisations and trusts.
5. Mental Health Challenges: Continuous racial trauma can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. When a traumatic incident occurs, it can push staff toward PTSD, making it difficult for them to function both personally and professionally. Many people working in healthcare might not even recognise the effects of trauma in themself or their colleagues, it can become normalised for them hide their expressions, emotions, and responses, and they can believe they are just not coping as well as their colleagues appear to be.
The Need for Systemic Changes
While improving resilience might seem helpful, it does not address the root cause of racism. It merely masks the problem, allowing people to continue their work without confronting the issue or implementing necessary training, changes or procedures. Systemic changes are essential:
1. Create Supportive Environments: Healthcare institutions must create environments that offer mental health resources acknowledging and supporting differences. In a truly multicultural society like the UK, one size certainly does not fit all.
2. Actively Address Racial Trauma: Organizations need to work with external providers to actively address racial trauma and dismantle systemic racism. This includes offering staff the choice of 1:1 or group work to process their experiences. Many organisations offer in-house support systems however attendees cannot be truly open through fear of judgement and repercussions.
3. Implement Strong Policies and Procedures: Policies and procedures should prioritize mental health and open discussions about race. Clear consequences for racist and racially oppressive comments and actions are crucial, however this does also mean entirely dismantling the entire system to rebuild it in a way which accepts differences wholly.
4. Ensure Diversity and Inclusivity: Workplaces must be diverse and inclusive, celebrating individuality and all diversity. Staff should feel valued, educated and educating, and respected, fostering a sense of belonging and safety to exist as themself.
By recognizing these issues and dealing with them face on to make the necessary changes, not just something to appear helpful, we can protect the mental health of essential caregivers and improve the compassionate care and support they offer. 💪❤️
If you would like to find out more about the anti-oppression spaces I offer for those in helping roles, please get in touch.
#MentalHealthMatters #HealthcareHeroes #PTSDAwareness #EndRacism #RacialTrauma #AntiRacist #AntiRacism #AntiOppression #Liberation
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