Activities of psychiatrists in specialized coronavirus disease 2019 wards at Juntendo Hospital

Abstract

Abstract Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic in 2020, specialized COVID‐19 wards have been established in general hospitals across Japan. Juntendo Hospital also established a dedicated COVID‐19 ward; however, many hospitalized patients were found to have psychiatric symptoms, such as delirium and depression. Juntendo Hospital's COVID‐19 specialist beds were staffed mainly by internists, who specialized in physical illnesses and were unfamiliar with psychiatric symptoms, making it difficult for them to provide adequate treatment. Some staff members were also found to be suffering from mental illness, compounding these issues. In 2021, to address these challenges, Juntendo Hospital's psychiatry department began having psychiatrists make rounds once a week in specialized COVID‐19 wards. The number of consultations varied depending on the status of the COVID‐19 epidemic; however, in the peak month, 45 consultations were made per month. Most consultations involved delirium and neurotic conditions, and there had been over 200 consultations for both by August 2023. We addressed not only the mental symptoms of the patients, but also the health status of the staff at the hospital beds, and took measures to maintain the mental health of the staff. Consequently, the hospital has not experienced any large‐scale medical breakdowns due to excessive staff fatigue. New pandemics of emerging infectious diseases will likely occur in the future, and we believe that we need to learn from this pandemic and prepare for future pandemics.

Keywords

• COVID‐19
• pandemic
• psychiatric care
• psychiatric symptom
• psychiatrist