NHSers - how are we doing / feeling? Calm before the storm?

[treebarking]

I'm in a low incidence area but even our covid ward has reopened with patients. No one on ITU but starting to see sicker covid patients coming in. Bigger regional hospital has a full unit already. No reduction in general admissions and if anything, they are more complex. Services were slowly getting back to normal, working through waiting lists etc but lags of 6 months for input. Infrastructure slowly going back to normal. Massive staff shortages as loads off with mental health sickness absence. Heating has gone on...hating mask life etc.

Today everyone suddenly realised that we might be going back to March or something similar. All the covid area processes again alongside running an acute service for non covid patients (as everyone won't stay at home this time round). Incorporating covid into the running of the hospital etc. Everyone has been in good spirits but today....really flat. Not sure we've got enough reserves to do it again.

We're therapies btw so go all over the hospital rather than ward based.

How is everyone else doing? Does anyone know what the plan is for the nightingales? 🤷‍♀️

[treebarking]

@pandafunfactory

The virus is in the care homes I'm afraid

Yes it is in our area as well. Low incidence area and some care homes have it and are closing the doors again.

[PerkingFaintly]

Lots more love from a non-NHSer here.

I'm still doing my best not to spread CV and to be as little a problem as possible to you in every other way.

Thank you for being there.

[treebarking]

@BloodyMiserable

Realised the other day that it was exactly 6 months since lockdown. It feels like an eternity. It was horrendous on a personal level for me. Many people in our team did not pull their weight, did not come in to work. The rest of us are frazzled. I didn't feel like I got a proper break over the summer (annual leave changed/cancelled).

We are just getting in to the swing of the "new normal", having redesigned all our services to be video/phone call-based.

And now it looks like things are going to kick off again.

I don't know where we will be in 6 months time.

And us. Inpatient service back to normal. Giving people the right input again. Clinics restarting and getting in the swing of covid secure clinics or virtual appointments etc.

I kind of knew the winter would be worse but I didn't really think it would start yet and I didn't really think it would translate in to admissions already. Naively, I thought the government would step in and do something before it got back to this stage as covid in any great numbers in the hospital disrupts health care to everyone which was one of the great mantras.

[treebarking]

@PerkingFaintly

Lots more love from a non-NHSer here.

I'm still doing my best not to spread CV and to be as little a problem as possible to you in every other way.

Thank you for being there.

😍 you sound just like the patients we love to see!

Also, really don't want people to be afraid of accessing healthcare again or being a bother to us!

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

Dread to be honest. I was redeployed once, now back in my normal post but our services are far from normal due to working with a vulnerable group so we can’t run our normal groups and activities. I really, really don’t want to be redeployed again (and have to abandon my usual caseload of patients).

We’ve only just been allowed to visit our patients in care homes but now they’re locking down again.

Our health board is decommissioning its original surge hospital in a well known stadium and building another (400 beds) on our main hospital site. The full 400 beds won’t be available until February 2021. That’s hit home about how long we’re going to be up against it for.

I just wish everyone could all make the sacrifices that they’ve been asked to so that we can carry on with our journey towards normality.

[NerrSnerr]

I am a community nurse who was redeployed into the hospital discharge teams. Our service pretty much stopped and we all got moved. we're up and running catching up with things and making appointments. Dreading being redeployed again, cancelling appointments and our team getting further behind.

[NerrSnerr]

We’ve only just been allowed to visit our patients in care homes but now they’re locking down again.

Exactly the same here, many of our clients are in care homes and we're having to do a lot over the phone with the staff but it's not easy when you can't see them face to face. Also so hard for their families, many haven't seen their loved ones at all. It's heartbreaking but so hard for the care homes to do the right thing.

[chestergirl39]

Today at work it felt a bit like it did in mid March, subtle changes in tone of emails etc, that feeling of not knowing what you’ll be doing this time next week. Positive admissions have tripled since last week. Feel physically sick at the thought of all that again.

[Pomegranatepompom]

Stress levels are ramping up. We’ve already had a few positive results in staff...

[SparklingLime]

Huge gratitude from a non-NHSer, but also so much anger and sadness that you are being put in this situation again. Words are inadequate.

[SparklingLime]

@crosser62

Dread here.
Flu planning in full swing. Escalation plans back at the forefront.
Just waiting now, it’s coming.
The new masks are extremely uncomfortable, skin on faces breaking down again after just recovering.
Just don’t know if I can face it again even though we are as prepared as we can be.
Dread & fear.

This is fucking heartbreaking to read.

[motherrunner]

Another non-NHSer expressing sympathies and gratitude.

I’m a teacher. We have one year group isolating and so many other pupils are off waiting results. It is so similar to March it is scary 😢

[SpeedofaSloth]

It feels like early March again to me. I seem to be having the same arguments about resources now as I was then.

[Phoenix21]

I am so sorry that you are all facing this. I’ve been watching the increased positive cases (bearing in mind many + people won’t even have been able to get one), in horror knowing that hospitalisations will crank up in a few weeks.

I don’t even know what to say but want to offer my support. I work on the periphery of the NHS, interact with medical staff and have sympathy for you.

The worst thing is the depth of problems were avoidable, the NHS was already struggling at winter. And now a mismanaged pandemic.

[Ohfrigginghellers]

Thank you everyone for all you do and our thoughts are with you

[Pomegranatepompom]

And yet some people still believe it’s a conspiracy or that restrictions are unnecessary 😢

[UselessInDisguise]

Another non NHSer here with nothing but gratitude for you. We too (DH, DS 3 and my 8 month old) are trying are best to keep well and marching on through this new hell. I cannot imagine what you all are going through and can only hope to my core it doesn't turn out as bad as we fear. DS has been called up for a flu jab and I expect my request isn't far behind (bad asthma), we will of course be having them. My full faith is with the NHS. I hope we can all stand together, literally, very soon.

[WiseUpJanetWeiss]

Dread here too. I remember in early March waiting for a tsunami when so many people - colleagues even - were behaving as though somehow we would be OK. And then working 60 hour weeks, all through the Easter weekend, knowing we were so very lucky to be able to do our bit from home, and that we only know one person who ended up in ICU (and he’s expecting to be discharged, finally, this week).

I don’t know where everyone will get the strength from to do all that again, but I guess we’ll have to.

[spotlovesbedtime]

Thank you NHS workers. I'm self employed, business on it's knees, feel rather hopeless about the bigger things in life, you do all do an amazing job, very much appreciated and I wish there was some way we could take the strain......will continue to social distance and hope not to add to your burden. YOU are SO appreciated!!

[Bluepolkadots42]

You guys in the NHS and in social care are all amazing. I couldn't do what you do in 'normal times' let alone in Covid times. Thank you and good luck for the next few months

[Motorina]

Flat doesn't come close. Exhausted and tearful. We're trying to get back to normal service provision but the PPE requirements (we're AGP generating) have halved our capacity, and we have a 6 month backlog. Patients have gone from being very understanding to shouting with frustration. Which I understand, but...

I'm trying to pull together plans for something like normal service provision in October and November, but feeling much like I did in March planning services for May. Like I'm going through the motions, because everything is about to collapse again.

[atomicnotsoblonde]

I've been running a covid incident room since February. We're all exhausted. Utterly exhausted.

[Fluffypyjamas]

GP here. Have been working flat out since this all started. Seeing less people (but still seeing those who need to be seen) but having to learn new ways to manage patients safely. I'm knackered and I worry that my staff (or myself) just won't have the energy to continue. So upsetting to get hear the constant press of 'gp surgeries not being open'. It is like a kick in the teeth as I know everyone in primary care is working harder than ever. Everyone seems so angry. I can understand the frustration of secondary care stuff taking longer than usual but the extra workload this is putting on primary care (blood tests, chasing appointments/tests/follow ups) is killing us. I am not sure we are going to survive this winter.

[Wineiscooling]

Community specialist nurse here
Absolutely knackered! Our service has been stretched, many complex cases, combined with lack of GP visits and patients who may have been nursed else where but due to no visiting chose to stay at home, plus since school went back staff have colds and are told to isolate, awaiting swabs. Dreading winter. Cases rises, staff will be ill, we'll be short, patients sicker, more demand on service etc, etc.

[SunshineCake]

Instead of saying how well the general public are doing why doesn't the PM state the truth. That people are being selfish, stupid and making it worse for everyone. That the NHS we clapped for are still knackered and we have to help them by following the rules.