How Hong Kong hospital overcrowding takes its toll on nurses, mentally and physically

Nurses in the city’s public hospitals are at high risk of stress and mental health problems because of their workload, but many don’t seek help for fear of appearing weak

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In a 2014 survey of 1,600 nurses in Hong Kong, the average job satisfaction rating was 3.9 out of 10. The survey also revealed that nurses thought they were short on staff 81 per cent of the time. This past winter, only one of 16 public hospitals were not at more than 100 per cent occupancy. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 11:30am, 6 Apr 2016Updated: 12:59pm, 6 Apr 2016

It’s no secret that nurses in Hong Kong’s often overcrowded public hospitals are prone to stress - from having to care for ever more patients and working long hours, including frequent night shifts. Surveys have repeatedly drawn attention to the problem.

A 2015 study of 850 nurses showed they are three times as likely as the general population to suffer stress, anxiety or depression. A 2012 report by the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong found that nurses had the highest suicide rate (9.46 per 100,000 people) among professions including police (9.39) and teachers (7.35). In a 2014 survey, more than 1,600 nurses rated their stress levels at 8.2 out of 10 points, and job satisfaction at 3.9 out of 10.

Yet who is there to nurse the nurses? And how can a nurse worried about their mental health be persuaded to get help?

“Police officers might need counselling after they fire their guns … but people expect nurses to take care of themselves,” says a nurse who’s worked in public hospitals for more than a decade. “This image plays an important role, so no one is going to take the first step. We don’t want to seem weak, because then how are we going to take care of patients?” adds the nurse, who requested anonymity but who cares for mental health patients.

People awaiting treatment at Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan in February 2016. Photo: Dickson Lee

Although the Hospital Authority provides counselling, nurses are often afraid of people finding out about their mental health issues, particularly because they are medical professionals.