The Crucial Role of Essential Healthcare Workers in Upholding a Robust System
by Andrew Pasko-Reader, Unity Bands correspondent, March 20, 2024
In many ways, the foundation of a robust healthcare system is built upon the essential frontline workers and support staff. Without the nurses, techs, and aides doing much of the heavy lifting, the system runs into trouble. In this post, we examine the potential ramifications of a healthcare system that does not adequately support its essential workers.
Decreased Access to Care: Lower-level healthcare workers often play critical roles in providing frontline care, particularly in primary care settings and for underserved communities. Without their support, this could lead to decreased access to essential healthcare services, compounding existing disparities in healthcare outcomes and exacerbating existing health inequalities.
Increased Workload for Higher-Level Providers: Without sufficient support staff, higher-level healthcare providers, such as physicians and specialists, would likely face increased workloads and administrative burdens. This could result in decreased quality of care, longer wait times for patients, and higher rates of burnout among all healthcare professionals.
Risk of Medical Errors: Frontline healthcare workers often assist with tasks such as medication administration, patient monitoring, and record-keeping. All of these are fundamental components of patient safety. Without continued support for essential workers, a breakdown in basic patient care could lead to a breakdown at all levels of healthcare, significantly increasing the likelihood of widespread medical treatment errors.
Erosion of Patient Trust: Patients often interact more frequently with lower-level healthcare workers, as well as rely on them for support and guidance. Without this critical support, patient trust and satisfaction with the healthcare system could erode, leading to negative perceptions and decreased engagement in healthcare services.
Impact on Healthcare Delivery Models: A decrease of essential healthcare workers could necessitate changes in healthcare delivery models, such as increased reliance on technology, automation, or alternative care providers. While these changes may offer some benefits, they could also lead to disruptions in care continuity and reduced personalization of care.
Financial Implications: Lower-level healthcare workers often contribute to the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of healthcare delivery by performing essential tasks at a lower cost than higher-level providers. Without their support, healthcare organizations may face increased expenses associated with hiring and retaining higher-level providers or investing in alternative solutions.
Public Health Consequences: Inadequate support for essential healthcare workers could have broader public health consequences, particularly during public health emergencies or disease outbreaks. These workers often play crucial roles in disease prevention, surveillance, and response efforts, and their absence could hinder effective public health interventions.
Taken as whole, it is important to recognize the vital role essential frontline healthcare workers play. By supporting them, you not only support the individual workers struggling in challenging conditions, you also support the entire healthcare system. In the end, we all benefit from this.
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Unity Bands Inc. is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supporting low-income healthcare workers and providing credible public health information to at-risk communities. Discover more at unitybands.org