‘Frontliners exhausted’
NINETY-FOUR COVID-19 frontliners have accessed the Empower Pacific counselling services because they were exhausted and burnt out, and needed someone to talk to, says chief executive officer Patrick Morgam.
He said the NGO was expecting the number of calls from frontline works to increase.
“The frontliners call because they are exhausted, they are burnt out and they need somebody to vent out to and connect,”
Mr Morgam said.
“They also present a little bit of anxiety and despite the fact that they know about science, they are human beings who will get stressed out from the work they do.
“So they have a lot of questions to ask, like what if I get positive? What will happen to me and my family, some of them have young children, some have just started off their families, so these are issues that come into their mind.
“There is a little bit of depression about how this pandemic has turned out and Fiji is a small island and these numbers are high for us.
“A couple of COVID-19 deaths have also been reported, so the anxiousness is there.
“We support the MOH in its endeavours to eradicate and solve this problem and we are here to support frontliners and those in quarantine facilities.”
Mr Morgam said their counselling services was free of charge and counsellors would always provide telephone counselling to those who needed them during this health crisis.
He said the NGO was expecting the number of calls from frontline works to increase.
“The frontliners call because they are exhausted, they are burnt out and they need somebody to vent out to and connect,”
Mr Morgam said.
“They also present a little bit of anxiety and despite the fact that they know about science, they are human beings who will get stressed out from the work they do.
“So they have a lot of questions to ask, like what if I get positive? What will happen to me and my family, some of them have young children, some have just started off their families, so these are issues that come into their mind.
“There is a little bit of depression about how this pandemic has turned out and Fiji is a small island and these numbers are high for us.
“A couple of COVID-19 deaths have also been reported, so the anxiousness is there.
“We support the MOH in its endeavours to eradicate and solve this problem and we are here to support frontliners and those in quarantine facilities.”
Mr Morgam said their counselling services was free of charge and counsellors would always provide telephone counselling to those who needed them during this health crisis.