Experts highlight lack of recognition of the medical professionThat low wages and the need for improvement working conditions. That’s what they emphasize the importance of protecting the mental health of health workers and they have identified three key factors to improve it: autonomy, ownership, and competence.

Former CGCOM president, Dr. Serafín Romero, emphasized that “the medical profession is the only profession that recognizes that we are sick and has produced the necessary mechanisms to guarantee good practice and guarantee patient safety.” In this sense, PAIME Ambassadors highlighted the importance of raising awareness among colleagues, professional organizations, administration and society itself of the importance of safeguarding the medical profession due to its impact on the quality of the National Health System.

Meanwhile, Ledia Lazeri, regional advisor for Mental Health at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, pointed out that there are many health professionals who “they feel insecure and lack job security and minimum professional conditions”. For this reason, he advocates “safety regulations” as a priority measure to protect the mental and physical health of health workers.

Furthermore, he stated that low salaries are one of the factors that influence the welfare of health workers, and has proposed “improving working conditions” but not only in terms of salaries but “with mediation services for interpersonal relationships and conflicts between colleagues and superiors, security measures and comprehensive support.”

Aspects that can improve mental health

Meanwhile, Anna Rowland, assistant director of Policy and Business Transformation, told how the General Medical Council (GMC) investigated the factors influencing the mental health of doctors in the UK. According to Rowland, “The mental health of health professionals is closely linked to workplace stress and personal relationships”. GMC experts have highlighted three important aspects that have been identified to improve the mental health of professionals: autonomy, sense of ownership and competence. “Physicians need to have control over the decisions they make and the work they do, work in teams that support them in times of stress and have the tools they need to do their job well,” he said.

FPSOMC and CGCOM have several measures in place to care for sick physicians. The star initiative is PAIME specialized mental treatment programs for physicians who have different disease processesTherefore, they asked the Ministry to make this one of the actions integrated into the national mental health strategy and autonomous communities.