I'm an ex ITU nurse and I don't want to go back

[MozzchopsThirty]

I know I am totally BU
And I could care for a vented patient
And the guilt is awful

I've been out of there for 8 years and there is talk amongst our management of redeploying staff with ITU experience

But I don't want to go
I don't want to risk my own health and my family's health by working long hours in a stressful environment with not enough protection

@Bluntness100 are you normally such a cunt or are you trying really really hard

I work as a midwife. We had a suspected Covid case on our labour ward last week but turned out it wasn't (thank God) We had a few ffp3 masks a manager came and took them to another area in the hospital that needed them and promised to return some to us.
They returned ordinary paper masks and when asked about the ffp3 masks we were told and I quote "well it's better than nothing"
Bluntness your comment has to be one of the worst I have ever seen. Shame on you.

Doctors and nurses are not adequately protected. If government is proposing pumping hundreds of billions into the economy.....get some fucking PPE for the medics first!!!!!

Someone asked OP what make her family more important than theirs - on the flip side - what makes your family more important than hers?

It isn't as simple as that. If I was already working as a nurse, that's one thing. But if I step back into the workforce then kill my mother (she scored 67 points on the latest PIP review with 24 points for mobility. The threshold for both is 12 points), how do I look my father in the face? I don't have a choice to isolate from Mum and Dad, Dads on his knees looking after her as it is. If I kill my DD, who gets knocked back by the most simple virus for weeks (she had a cold before Christmas and she didn't recover for weeks, to the point that school asked why I was sending her in despite having attendance of 85%), how do I look my other children and husband in the face?

If I go to work, my husband will need to stay at home and he works for 4 schools, keeping them running (he's a site manager). That's why I stopped in the first place. No childcare for 14 year olds who behave like 6 year olds. Her school is closing altogether because their staff have been decimated by Covid19.

one sick but stabilised ITU patient.

They already changed the ratio in my trust. One ITU nurse to 3 patients. Level 3 patients btw

Just read all the replies thank you

I still work as a nurse but in a totally different community role and we are not currently home visiting

Things will have changed in 8 years but I could still take a blood gas (probably not interpret it though), suction, position etc
Vent settings I wouldn't have a clue now, ditto changing circuits etc

Still no news on plans for us yet so I'm still working from home

Working on ITU is the hardest thing I ever did, I would often finish a shift and just sit in my car and sob before I went home, it was emotionally and physically draining. The expectations are enormous from families and drs.

We've moved this over to the Coronavirus topic now, @MozzchopsThirty

We have a clean and a dirty unit now on our icu.

Please consider helping on a clean unit as they still have patients without covid eg traumas and nuro patients.

This would free other nurses to work on the dirty unit.

Update from work is that they are currently redeploying those that left hospital within last 3 years

I'm a trainee nursing associate, I used to work as a hca on ICU. I have been informed that they might call me back.
I want to do my bit and it's hard when on different placements to feel that.
I totally understand retired medical staff etc been called back into services. The NHS needs as much back up as possible in these unpredictable times but some of these staff retired due to ill health. On a side note, up to now TNA in our trust are not expected to graduate 6 months early.
Thank you to my fellow nhs workers

You will not be expected to "look after" ventilated patients you will be working in teams supervised and supported by trained ICU nurses. The principles of basic nursing care still apply- mouth care, eye care, turning, administration of routine drugs etc. The ICU nurses will be analysing the observations, blood gases etc making adjustments to the ventilatory settings and vasoactive drugs and directing and supporting care. At least that is what our plan is.

I'm peadiatric and really worried about being redeployed to adults. I'm not trained to look after adults, I wouldn't have a clue what to do with them. And to be honest. I just don't want to look after them. I chose paediatrics for a reason.

Always interesting when people expect others to do something they wouldn’t do themselves. I’m referring to the people being so harsh to OP.
As someone else said are you off to volunteer as domestics / health care assistants / support workers etc? Being a nurse is a tough job especially at the moment! It’s hardly as if the government are ever supportive, they seem to prefer pay cuts and disrespect

Can’t believe some people’s reactions! She’s come on here to be open and vent there’s so many of you come on the threads to bash people! 😳 it’s crazy!!!!

@EL8888 totally agree, somehow I doubt the people bashing OP are getting in contact with their local hospital to see what they can do to help.

@Popc0rn yep l find it hard to believe they are doing it either

To be honest, were I trained, I'd wait it out. This is just the start; things might be better - but they could be a whole lot worse - come winter.

I mean, I'm first aid trained and know how to self administer sub cut injections/infection control/clean/take care of sharps safely, so I'd potentially be fractionally more useful than somebody dragged in off the street, but who knows if a trained First Aider is going to be desperately needed in a year's time instead because they've gone through all the current staff, current students, recently left and long term left people?

Hopefully, having had it and survived will mean there are people who have at least some immunity to reinfection in the future. And perhaps advances will be made in treating and possibly vaccinating against it over the coming months. But we just don't know yet.

I understand anybody who doesn't want to be the first to stick their head above the parapet.

If you do not want to go back, do not go. You don't owe the country/NHS/public any more than you have already paid.

Anyone who does come out of 'retirement' to help is wonderful, truly.

But that doesn't make anyone who doesn't, bad.

I can guarantee there are people on this thread who COULD be doing something to help others right now, but are not. How many of us are driving around trying to find milk for the isolated family down the street? Or handing hand sanitiser over to vulnerable people who really need it? Or helping HCP's get fruit and veg and meat to stay fed and healthy? Or whatever. It's funny how helping is a moral obligation when it's someone else who has to actually do it.

I make people redundant for a living and am going to be VERY busy soon and no I do not like doing it but it needs to be done so I just get on with it.

There, do I get a prize?

I’m a current nurse who only does a few bank shifts to keep my registration. I haven’t actually had any news asking me to work more and I don’t want to either it’s stressful and crazy at the best of times it would be hell on earth to go back into hospitals now.

Don't think you can really compare ITU during the Coronavirus outbreak with an office job Clouds - funny!

@CloudsCanLookLikeSheep assuming you phone people to make them redundant? Not the nicest job no, but you're in no way risking your own health while doing it. Not exactly comparable with being responsible for people's lives in an ITU during a global pandemic.

All this offering NHS workers free drinks is just window dressing. We need proper PPE, proper rest breaks during shifts, some kind of legal cover if things don't go well in the pressure cooker situation (don't think we won't get sued afterwards!) and some respect from the government which should be reflected in how they address their priorities.

^^Couldn't agree more.

There, do I get a prize?

Yes, for a top ten stupid comment.

Your life is not endangered firing people.