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.

I remember reading that courage is about carrying on even when you are scared.

I don't want to have courage though, I'm not brave and have no wish to be. I take no pleasure in people saying "thanks to all you brave workers" etc, I know they mean well but it seems like they are rubbing it in. Like we don't mind doing this because nursing is is our life and we really want to help. I don't! It's like being in the military, but at least soldiers have the comfort of knowing their family is safe at home. In contrast, I will definitely infect my whole family including newborn baby.

I am trying not to watch/read the news today or go on any social media, as I am being driven mad by the constant talk about staying home. Yes, I desperately wish I could! And force my DH to do the same (also a front line hcp)

@1300cakes I've got no business being on this thread but you post makes me so sad. Why the hell must you do this? I can't stand the whining about inconveniences with no regard for what you are up against.

@MyHipsDontLieUnfortunately if we don’t do it who will?

I can’t imagine any of us signed up to our professions expecting one day to be dealing with the largest pandemic in a century. But here we are. Army, police, firefighters, they sign up knowing the risks of the job.

@1300cakes

Given your circumstances with newborn baby and DH being frontline, I'd push loudly for a behind the scenes job and I don't say this lightly as I am all-hands-on-deck in this matter. If they don't give you a less risky position, quit.
Your immediate family cannot afford two parents sick with Covid plus the risk of passing it on to your newborn.

1300cakes I feel exactly the same. I have huge anxiety about this, I don’t want to be a hero I want to be around to watch my kids grow up but at the same time I can’t sit around knowing that I have the skills to help and am not helping. I don’t want to do it but why should anyone else? I am absolutely raging that we have been put in this position by our inadequate government. They had the chance to slow this right down and they chose not to take it 😡

Lifeisabeach everyone wants a behind the scenes job, it’s just not possible. There are pregnant women, people with lung and heart disease people over 60 and even over 70 all working in the nhs and that’s without the ones who are self isolating because their child has a cough or they are ill themselves. The nhs is thin on the ground for staff on a normal day, there is no one else.

Understood, Ciwi, but you never know what each Trust/area is offering jobwise. I'm doubting 1300cakes will get a redeployment but I'd rather this than lose a resource if it can be prevented someway/somehow.

As for the people you work with heart and lung disease, I'd tell them to get the fuck outta there. They'll be the worst sick. I know people have mortgage, rent, bills but I'd rather be in rent arrears, eating beans then in an ITU bed or dead!

I know but they are in the same situation as me, it’s hard to watch your colleagues struggle and to walk away knowing that someone could die if you do. I have told them to stay out of the way but they feel obligated to help and I am furious that they have been put in that position.

I'm new, hi, I haven't rtft, I've got a headache, I can't sleep, I have no idea what I'm going to walk into in the morning. Dreading it, I wish I could be at home isolating.

Just wanted to get that out, I feel absolutely rotten about it all.

Love to all of you

@hvnc, I'm sorry. It really is fucking shit. (I'm a HCP too)

Love to you back!

Hi op

I'm a nurse on a gastro ward. If I'm honest the nhs ain't ready. We are running out of PPE. Hand sanitisers are practically finished.

It is putting a lot of strain on nhs staff.

I love my job and we do what we need to do in life.

I'm just scared that when UK goes into lockdown and we go work, we don't catch it as I have 2 children who are asthmatic... My children's school has closed.

Does anyone work at whipps cross hospital???

I don't know if this is a joke but we've been told if someone in our family is symptomatic they're gna book us a local hotel so we can still keep coming to work. Are they high?!

Lifeisabeach I'm a radiographer, and so is my DH, there's no such thing as a behind the scenes role for a radiographer. We take xrays, that's all there is. And if DH works and I don't, he'll just bring it home to us anyway. So it seems pointless.

Look I don't want to make it sound like I have it worse than others, I don't. Or that I think there is an alternative, or that it's unfair. And I don't want non essential workers to feel bad as it's not their fault.

It just sucks, that's all.

@Pinkbunny2811
As far as I k ow they were doing that for nhs staff that work in Chelsea

Yep, that changes things @1300cakes. My apologies I'd assumed you were a medic or nurse.
I don't think non-essential workers feel bad---they must be bloody relieved.
And don't worry---you're allowed to have a moan.

No need to apologise life.

Teachers must be really worried as well. If children are asymptomatic super spreaders as has been widely reported, their whole class (of nhs workers kids) is likely to be infected and give it to them. Same as us, I don't see any way for them to avoid getting sick.

@jade bit of a blurry line isn't it?

I am frontline staff & havent been 'fit' tested
Even without being fit testedd i am caring foŕ people as #,everylifematters

Sure NHS staff have more to worry about, but we really appreciate the updates here. This thread could be one of the only places on the internet to hear what is really happening on the front line without the filter of politicians and the media.

Thanks to everything the nurses do in particular. I’ve always thought they were heroes after every time I’ve passed through a hospital and they are proving it already.

If I wanted to make a donation to help nurses or NHS staff directly, is there any place to do that?

All our students have been sent home and won't be coming back any time soon.

Also joining. I work as a non clinical assistant on an acute medical floor mainly doing restocking of supplies and treatment rooms at the moment. Why oh why did my ward manager decide it was a good idea to reduce our stock two weeks ago? I can only think they are stock piling for the onslaught somewhere as we are running out of even basic ppe! The cleaners have ran out of soap

So far 2 positive (in the whole hospital) and 4 staff off who had contact and are showing symptoms. No idea what ward the positive patients were on as it's kept very quiet but it's likely they passed through us.

A few weeks ago we had one suspected case who was given 1 to 1 nursing, the nurse changed scrubs after each contact, as well as wearing the proper protective gear. She wasn't allowed in the treatment room or kitchen. Now it seems we can all go in these rooms with surgical masks, the patients aren't wearing them though. I'm hoping since visiting times have changed to one hour per day we will at least have soap to wash our hands.

I am very worried about my mum who is a staff nurse at a large teaching hospital on an elderly medical ward. She has so many health problems but she is continuing to go in. For 40 years of service she received a tiny button like pin, they have never cared about her and I wish she'd just leave.

No amount of 'flattening the curve' will save this shower of shit from falling on the nhs. They can't even close pubs ffs. What a risk the nhs is put under when Boris Johnson's dad can't even say no to a pint.

Love and strength to you all. I'm a school nurse currently on maternity leave. Due back in a couple of months, god knows what I'm going back to. Feel horribly out of the loop, there's talk of us being redeployed to the hospital, but no clarity on what will be happening. I believe in the NHS staff however I don't believe we will be supported by this government. Stay safe all

I’m an RGN, have been self employed for 15 years working in the private setting. I want to help in the NHS, So I phoned the local hospital and asked to apply to be on their Nurse Bank, and was told there are no vaccines, I even asked about working as a HCA, and she said no, there may be some posts advertised on 2nd April.

Boris mentioned that retired nurses will be asked to come back ..... I’m not even retired, I’m 49. How can I help out ? Any suggestions ? I live in Exeter.

Wow op, what trust do you work for where the admin staff are relatively highly paid and under worked? I’m just above minimum wage and drowning in work load. Spend an hour in my office and see what we do and the pressure we are under not helped by the likes of you.