Thread for NHS staff

[LucheroTena]

How prepared do you think your place of work is? I work clinically in large teaching hospital and not at all confident we’re ready. Outside of wards there is very little planning and yet we have massive outpatient services. Elective stuff is being limited now but nowhere near enough capacity will be created. Millions in deficit so we’re operating on skeleton workforce and even when we can recruit no one wants to work here. Dozens of calls to our small team each day from worried patients, it’s taking up so much time to answer them all on top of already manic workload. Loads of staff with symptoms that are concerning but we’re not swabbing them and 111 uninterested unless they’ve travelled. Admin staff gleeful that they might soon be ‘working’ from home when truth is it’s difficult to get them to do much work on site let alone unsupervised. It doesn’t feel as though there is much consideration for clinical staff and now we’ll no doubt also be burdened with doing the jobs of admin. Never been as close to saying stuff it and quitting.

Did anyone read about poor Wayne Rooney and footballers being treated like guinea pigs. Does he not realise there will be many low paid workers put in actual danger within the NHS in a matter of weeks.

Not NHS staff but F1 child on the front line in London. Teaching cancelled, conferences cancelled, booking leave currently permitted but no new requests allowed, talk of redployment and makeshift wards but also of staying on wards they know.

We are practising social distancing in the hope we avoid adding to NHS pressures, dont have stocks of anti-bacterial get we could donate - but also wonder of there is anything that might make staff feel appreciated now.

I'm on days off after nights but back tomorrow.
From what I hear the anaesthetists have stepped up at our hospital and are doing the ppe training as we will be able evolved in intubating and caring for prone patients.
Fit mask training is taking longer but needed.There are only 4 hoods if you fail the test.
But we have a good team and if management could also step up we stand a chance(ie.don't say we have no Covid cases when we all knew there were 2 in A&E).
I'm incharge of my area for the next 3 days so let it all unfold.I have a competent and supportive team and that is what will see us through.

From Pulse (industry magazine for GPs):

GPs receiving supplies of face masks from the national strategic reserve are being sent old expired masks with the 2016 expiry date covered up by a 2021 sticker.

www.pulsetoday.co.uk/clinical/clinical-specialties/respiratory-/gps-being-sent-out-of-date-face-masks-with-concealed-best-before-dates/20040359.article

It has emerged that around 20 regions have received batches of face masks with a 2016 expiry date hidden by a ‘2021’ sticker.

BBO LMCs CEO Dr Matt Mayer told Pulse: ’We are hearing from practices all over our area that the PPE being sent to them is inadequate. To now find that it is not just out of date, but that the expired date has apparently been deliberately concealed is staggering.

’GPs are already being put at risk by inadequate PPE. This just further suggests that the Government regard us as expendable.

‘We demand a full investigation into this matter immediately by the Department of Health and expect criminal charges to be brought if this is found to have been deliberate.’

7 confirmed cases in my gaff, 4 in CCU and 3 in the wards.

FFP only to be used in confirmed case AND aerosol generating procedures, otherwise normal PPE as for flu.

Lots of talk as to how to get pregnant women with suspected cases in for their scans. Feels like they are stil not getting it. Obviously some scans are vital for short term care planning, but routine scans can wait two weeks until the woman has recovered surely?

Mini hand gel has all been nicked.

I expect to be redeployed in next couple of weeks, am currently in specialist role.

I read the Wayne Rooney thing the other day and it wound me up as well. How self cantered can one person be 🤦🏼‍♀️.

WhenYouveAFirstInEnglish Scary number of patients in one hospital given that this is only just Starting. We have been told ffp for all confirmed cases regardless of aerosol generating procedure or not. See how long that lasts

So I've developed a bad cough/tight chest as have two of my kids. No temperature (as yet) rang in work to ask about the need to self isolate - apologetically, as i feel ok and under different circumstances id probably soldier on and go in. I have been made to feel like the biggest skiver ever. My boss has had me phoning occ health - who are not swabbing anyone and said follow public health advice and self isolate. Then she told me to ring 111 or my GP for a sick line. Unable to get through to 111. Incredulous GP says to self-cert. Boss not happy she said "well, if YOU FEEL you should self isolate then i suppose you'll have to go ahead, sighing heavily.

I honestly wish i hadn't said anything and just gone in for my shift. I mean, I'm not making it up! I'm just trying to do the right thing.

My boss has had me phoning occ health - who are not swabbing anyone and said follow public health advice and self isolate. Then she told me to ring 111 or my GP for a sick line. Unable to get through to 111. Incredulous GP says to self-cert. Boss not happy she said "well, if YOU FEEL you should self isolate then i suppose you'll have to go ahead, sighing heavily.

See the whole dicking about ringing 111 is against current advice. I get it, we're going to be short staffed (I've had a text from staff bank saying theres shifts on my ward next few days, unlikely to be filled as midweek never is so I'll be the only qualified) but if managers carry on acting like dickheads then staff just start walking.

Atla you have done the right thing. It’s a joke that employers are making people feel bad for following the advice we have been told to follow. Did you get any of that conversation in writing?

Frontline AHP working in Paeds here.

Standing at the beach waiting for the tsunami is exactly the feeling at the moment! My hospital has started making plans end of last week. It's all felt too little too late rather like the government's response.

When the government say the nhs is well prepared it makes me angry. 10 years of cutbacks have left us in a very vulnerable position.

Ciwirocks no, nothing in writing it was all over the phone. I couldn't believe she had me phoning 111 when all the advice says not to at this stage. I would have been happy to get a test if on offer from occ health but it's not so i dont really have much choice - alternative just to go into work and cough over everyone! I'm so annoyed! Plus feeling v guilty about being off.

Atla
You're managers going to love you tomorrow now the advice has changed to 14 days again.

oh good grief. I can't face that conversation.

Might be able to get round it by swapping shifts to the end of the week or something

I honestly feel like I cannot continue to do my job.
My mental health it in tatters. Heart racing all the time etc.
I was nights last night and back in tomorrow for a long day. The infection control is abysmal.

After hearing the WHO have said children have died with this ( I thought they were doing okay previously) I feel like I'm doing the wrong thing going in and bringing it home to them.

If I wasnt worried financially I would hand my notice in.

Dear God. I hope some journalists are picking up on this thread.
Love and support to you all.

@Loppy10 That is because the expiry date is arbitrary. They will have assessed them as OK for another 5 years in 2016. Better than disposing of them if they are actually fine. It isn't as if we eat masks.

I'm going into work tomorrow morning first shift since Friday they are preparing the ward to be the isolation unit.
I haven't had my ppe training yet. I hope I get it tomorrow.
I will insist on wearing full ppe & proper mask for both confirmed AND suspected cases.

But I am prepared that I will catch it.
My over 70 parents are self isolating anyway & next week I've got an appointment at a solicitor to make my Will.

I'm making my Will not just because of the virus but because I have epilepsy that is currently not well controlled

And look at this:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-healthcare-providers-who-have-diagnosed-a-case-within-their-facility/covid-19-actions-required-when-a-case-was-not-diagnosed-on-admission
Key point:
Staff may return to work after 7 days EVEN IF STILL SYMPTOMATIC!

We've now got 67 patients and 9 staff confirmed as having Covid within the trust.

My ward manager is still adamant that we go in to work unless we've called 111 to report our symptoms and tested positive for Covid.

I wasn't there last week as on annual leave but received an email from the ward manager to advise there was a case on the ward. To date I have not been told if I had contact with this patient despite repeatedly calling and emailing. Just a quick reply to say no would be great!

Neuronurse are you in London? Scary that this is just the start. Did the staff get Covid in work? I think they are going to start testing us, only so we can go to work sick like 🤨

That's what it sounded like from the conference today- to test staff, so that if it's negative, back to work you go.

We’ve been told #nofs and new CA diagnosis’s with significant comorbities won’t be offered any surgical intervention. Specialist ANPs are being redeployed to ED working outside of role and speciality, scary and unsafe but doubt the nmc will be interested!