Determinants of workload-related clinician stress levels in general hospital consultation liaison psychiatry services during the COVID-19 pandemic in England and Ireland. Short report

Objective: To explore workload-related stress levels experienced by consultation liaison psychiatry (CLP) staff in England and Ireland, and factors relevant to such a burden, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data were obtained for England and Ireland from a European survey among CLP services in general hospitals spread via CLP networks (11th June - 3rd October 2021). The heads of respective CLP services in general hospitals responded on behalf of each service, on 100 CLP hospital staff in total. Dependent variable: workload-related stress levels in CLP services due to COVID-19 (0-10 point scale). Independent variables: hospital size, CLP service size, degree of hospital involvement in COVID-19-related care, and the number of support options available to hospital staff. Spearman's rho correlation analyses were performed. Results: There was a significant association between the hospital's involvement in COVID-19-related care and workload-related stress levels as reported by CLP staff: r(22) = 0.41, p = 0.045, R2 = 0.17. There were no significant associations between workload-related stress levels and other variables including staff support (p = 0.74). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that perceived workload-related stress levels of CLP staff during the COVID-19 pandemic can be an indicator of COVID-19 involvement of the hospitals. Staff support seemed not to alleviate work stress in the context of the pandemic. Healthcare policies should improve working conditions for CLP hospital staff that play an essential role from a population health perspective. Rigorous measures may be needed to ensure mental healthcare provision remains tenable and sustainable in the long term.