Why Thousands of California Mental Health Care Workers Are On Strike
"On August 15, 2022, more than 2,000 California mental healthcare workers went on strike. These members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers walked off the job after announcing an open-ended job action in order to protest the working environment and the level of patient care they say they are seeing at their employer, Kaiser Permanente.
The Root Cause of the Strike
“Burnout manifests in individuals, but it’s fundamentally rooted in systems. And health worker burnout was a crisis long before Covid-19 arrived…Burnout is not only about long hours. It’s about the fundamental disconnect between health workers and the mission to serve that motivates them.”
What Does This Mean for Care?
What Next?
Caldwell says that bringing staff back to the bargaining table will likely take more than just paying people better, or giving people more time off. For him, systemic failure is where the concept of self-care falls down as a human resources strategy. For these workers, it’s not about needing to find time for themselves, it’s about addressing the needs of their patients.
“Those things are nice, and they can help. But fundamentally, if you're a clinician and working in a system that you come to realize is structurally inconsistent with your values, then you're going to leave. If you don't feel like you can change that system from within, you have to figure out how to come to terms with this moral conflict.”"
Read the complete article available at Very Well Mind!
#Burnout #Healthcare #MentalHealth
@comfortableNight4463
Wow!
I was unaware of this. The ratio of patient to staff is INSANE.
I can see why it would lead to burnout.
Thanks so much for this informative read! ✨💛
@innateJoy9602 Yes! It's no doubt that they might have been overwhelmed. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
@comfortableNight4463 Tha's really unfortunate. On the other hand sometimes mental health workers are idealized and that's what makes people think they can handle everything. This is good from one perspective because it means high quality services but we should never forget and neglect their own needs too. Thanks for the update!
@calmDew1576 Exactly! Healthcare workers have their won needs and capacity. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I work in Healthcare in California and I stand with them!
@wittyGrapes7678 That's great! Thank you so much for your service!