Moral Injury in the NHS

I do not know if this author is a doctor, nurse, or some other provider in England’s National Health Service (NHS), but it does strike at one of the [many] problems of dealing with moral injury: it tends to strip the person of their humanity, leaving them bereft in the soul. These two stanza’s of her poem touch upon this aspect:

Fifty thousand deaths and rising, it is all we fear,
But there are many others we fail to see.
Of patients failed by a system of care,
And a daily reminder of moral injury.

We don our armour and put up a wall,
And distance ourselves from suffering.
Effortless to stay detached, by means of a call,
No hand, no touch, no tender embracing.

This holiday season, don’t lose your humanity. Those suffering from moral injury, take a look at the armor you are wearing: is it serving you or just weighing you down? May you find your own humanity again in these blighted times.

Read the whole poem here.

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