Abstract

Introduction: Staff working throughout the pandemic have been significantly affected by the impact of COVID-19 which has led to impacts upon their morale and increased rates of burnout, this has been particularly seen within nursing staff [1]. In view of this impact upon morale, we sought to establish whether the morale of nursing staff affects the delivery of effective pain management in post-surgical patients.

Method: We conducted a qualitative study involving 45 nursing staff and 45 patients examining the morale of nursing staff, their experience and understanding of the delivery of pain relief together with patients’ need for pain relief, the assessment of their pain relief and the satisfaction levels of their pain control.

Result: The results indicate that the majority of nursing staff were satisfied with their job. Of the ones not satisfied with their jobs they often felt unsupported and were at increased risk of burnout. However, their job satisfaction and morale did not correlate with patients’ satisfaction with pain relief.

Discussion: The results from this study indicate that even if nursing staff are suffering from low morale, this does not impact negatively on the post-operative pain relief care they deliver for their patients. However, this was a small study, and it may be that as the impact of the pandemic becomes more apparent; the subsequent effect upon the medical and nursing workforce particularly in relation to morale and burnout may negatively impact patient care if burnout and workforce morale in the health system is not addressed.

Keywords: Pain; Morale; COVID; Management; Treatment