Covid Crisis: Realities and Post-Covid reflections for a resilient hospital organization

Abstract

The Covid-19 crisis disrupted the usual benchmarks of healthcare systems and profoundly unsettled hospital organizations. Healthcare personnel bore the full brunt of these upheavals and faced the risk of developing emotional and psychological problems. This article aims to discuss the pandemic’s impacts on the health and safety of staff and to explore the agility capacity of a regional hospital (CHR) in northern Morocco, to develop effective post-epidemic strategies.

This exploratory study was carried out over five months using a questionnaire administered to 50 medical and paramedical professionals from the CHR's hospital centers, along with 28 semi-structured interviews conducted with hierarchical managers. To manage the crisis, several actions were undertaken at the CHR at organizational, structural, and mission levels.

The crisishad a psychological impact on the health of professionals. They were subjected to extreme pressure, experiencing chronic stress and burnout. Work overload, risk of contamination, demotivation, poor working conditions, internal communication problems, shortcomings in task organization, and shortages of protective equipment were among the dramatic consequences of the pandemic, similar to those observed even in developed countries.

In response, the respondents proposed several avenues for improvement to promote staff well-being and strengthen hospital resilience. It therefore appears necessary to intervene by implementing support measures to ensure a more resilient organization, thereby meeting the demands of today's healthcare systems.

ClassificationJEL : : I11

Paper type: Empirical Research