For more than a year, they've sacrificed their time and risked their lives to take care of patients.

Unfortunately, the long hours and the job demands have taken a toll on their mental health.

They are all burnt out

A recent survey by the Ministry of Health has revealed that a high number of medical professionals are suffering from severe burnout, Malay Mail reported.

The Ministry conducted the survey on 893 health workers recently to look for signs of burnout.

Out of the total respondents, over half of them reported personal-related burnout while 39.1 per cent reported work-related burnout. Around 17.4 per cent said they are suffered from patient-related burnout.

The burnout could be due to exhaustion from long working hours and pandemic fatigues, the Ministry of Health said.

According to the survey, personal-related burnout was found to be highest among state health workers and pharmacists.

A majority of those suffering from work-related burnout are local assistant medical officers (PKPP), while paramedic and private health workers make up the majority of the third category.

"Most of them felt that they’re not getting enough psychosocial support at work," the Ministry said in a statement quoted by the news portal.

Putting measures in place

To deal with the rise in mental health strain among its staff, the Ministry of Health has put several measures in place.

One of them is regular mental health screenings for medical professionals, so that the Ministry can quickly identify signs of burnout.

The Ministry also added that health workers will be given unrecorded leave or put on rotational shifts so that they can rest and recuperate after long working hours.