To ask what NHS frontline staff think of Breathtaking?

[CloudyYellow]

I have watched all 3 episodes. I worked on the frontline during Covid. I found it very triggering and my fury is back.

My friend who contracted covid in that mad ‘no PPE except hot zones’ period and was/is disabied by long covid found the same.

Yep, I found the first episode very accurate honestly, to the point I stopped watching it. It really was like a war zone in retrospect.

It was so accurate. I am so glad someone has shone a light on the disgusting way it was handled.

I found it triggering too. It brought a lot of things back to me which I thought I'd blocked out.

It's bought back a lot of anger. I'm angry. A friend of mine died. She died before her time. She died because we didn't have appropriate PPE. Watching the clips of Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock has really pissed me off. I've struggled to watch it, knowing what my colleagues went through whilst they threw parties...

I'm not nhs. I've watched it in shock really. And anger.

I haven’t seen it but will definitely take a look. Worked for the NHS during Covid but within maternity services so didn’t experience what many frontline doctors and nurses did but am well aware of just how awful it was

I’m on the second episode and I wish I hadn’t started watching. I can’t stop crying and I feel so sick. The memories are just piling back in.
i worked in ITU and I remember the whole PPE issue. Being told to reuse gowns,seeing people die without family. Having a coup,e of days off and coming back and finding out 10 people had been taken off vents and died. Holding iPads over vented patients so that families could say goodbye.
Sorry- I’m so bloody angry and upset at the crappy government who allowed this mess. They had fucking time to prepare, and they didn’t bloody care.
The bit about knowing how many Drs had died but not the rest of the staff really upsets me.

The first episode made me so angry I was sorry I watched it but it is accurate. The time lines showed that they knew we needed PPE but sent us like lambs to the slaughter. I caught covid from a patient on 13th March 2020 assisting an aerosol generating procedure with no masks. We knew very little about the virus and protecting ourselves, we hadn't been told any guidelines at that point, nor could we tell who had it as no tests, but the powers that be obviously knew we should have been wearing fit masks, I was in the high risk categories and was very ill but at the time I was just grateful to not end up in ICU or dead as some of my colleagues did....💔

Just to add, I wasn’t an ITU nurse, I was redeployed. The ITU staff were admirable in every aspect. Ironically, we probably got the best PPE, so when we were having to reuse it, you know it must be awfully shit everywhere else.

We avoided it as want to watch it back to back

We saw a foreign film about vaccines last night and what some polticians did to other countries is so disgusting

It will bring it all back and we are trying to forget it but we should not.

I hope this tv programme wakes up the media again and get heads to roll,

IMO, we've not learned our lesson and that is scary. Most politicians are i it for themselves, you dont have to look far.

This tv prog will point the finger at the right people IMO

I’m NHS and my mum died alone on Christmas Day 2020 of covid. I’ve been unable to watch it. I’ve got PTSD as a result of my job and of knowing my mum died alone while the tories partied. It’s just heartbreaking and I know it’ll rip open that grief again.

Lets hope we get the same reuslt as we have with the post office scandal - waiting to see heads roll. But more importantly, I hope lessons have been learned and we managed better and protect our front line NHS and others that need proper protective gear.

I am so sorry. That is heartbreaking.

Yes also triggered. Fury and sadness. Endless contradictory changes in policy often to address shortfalls in resources (whether PPE or staff). Policing heavy handed of those policies with self righteousness and no compassion. Managers trying to balance compassion with safety but not really sure what safe practice was (but fully aware the contradiction in policy often wasn't actually about protecting people)
Failure to provide routine, urgent, healthcare. Saving the NHS ....actually killed it.
Fucking government...immoral leeches. Fucking PHE...slow to respond and self righteousness in their ivory tower

Christ, I can't imagine how you got through that. And now you have to carry all the horrific memories and the rage. I'm so sorry.

I won’t be watching it, not yet anyway as I’m know it’ll put me in a dark place mentally.

This isn’t entertainment to me. Those years of my life were hell. I don’t want to rewatch it back. There was very little done to protect me and the people I love.

Stopping families seeing each other when dying....whilst the politicians partied? The trauma of being responsible for managing end of life zoom calls. My mum also died alone. I will never get over that. I keep it buried because I cannot verbally vent enough...I might have to do something

I’m not sure I can watch it. I know others posted the same tonight and one nursing colleague who I work closely with said it was triggering and bright back a lot of emotions.

@StuffLoriThangs I’m not sure it’s supposed to be “entertainment”. Possibly educational/insight into what nhs staff have been through and why maybe they are not working at the pre pandemic place they were.

Hopefullly, the guilty are losing sleep over this programme and will be named and shamed.

We watched the post office programme back to back - we heard lot about it but when we watched it, Me and my OH were hurt, we felt for the postmasters and their families. Re this prog, it will bring back awful memories of what many have already said on this thread and I just hope the people that should have resigned will resign soon

Right, but what I mean is I don’t want to be educated (fair enough if others do) but I would prefer escapism than to be reminded of what a completely awful time my friends and colleagues were having. Thanks for your insight into my comment though.

I think I'll avoid but I might pick up the book. I'm not NHS, but TfL. One of my team members nearly died. She's mostly fine now thank heavens, but only because of the Herculean efforts of her healthcare workers.

Including bus drivers who are not directly employed we lost over 100 colleagues. Bus drivers took the biggest hit though, because they tended to look ead more sedentary lives, eat less healthy food and smoke a good deal more. Plus they were spending hours with people on their buses that were brewing the virus in them. There were safeguards put in place like sealed cabs and regular sanitising but it wasn't 100% safe.

How the Government behaved was appalling. Just the worst.

I just cant watch it.

Its just too close to home .