A new study has revealed a further decline in the mental health of staff working in nursing homes across Ireland, which coincided with the easing of public health restrictions following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The findings from phase two of a research study from St Patrick’s Mental Health Services; Trinity College Dublin; the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland; and Nursing Homes Ireland showed that nursing home staff working after Ireland’s pandemic restrictions had been lifted reported substantially higher levels of post-traumatic stress, moral injury, low mood and suicidal thinking than during the pandemic.

Sixty-five percent of respondents reported moderate or severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, while 57% of nursing home staff reported low mood in the second phase of the research. Researchers also found that levels of suicidal thinking increased.