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? 🤷‍♀️

[chestergirl39]

“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.“

Same for us, but not AGP. Patients so far very understanding. Have worked flat out since returning from wards to catch up as much as we can with so much reduced capacity. Plans in place to open up more services in next couple of weeks, appointments sent....feels like a waste of time and energy now.

[Heffalooomia]

I've heard predictions that we wont get the usual amount of flu cases b/c it has fewer opportunities to transmit with the covid measures ongoing?

[Whoateallthecheese]

Not NHS but another one popping in to say a HUGE thank you for all that you do, it's so appreciated and I think you're all amazing.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

I'm not NHS, I'm a teacher. I really feel for you, people just aren't thinking. Some are trying so hard, others are just carrying on regardless.
It feels like we are balancing on the edge of something terrible and you're the ones that are going to be dealing with it.

Clapping was a nice gesture. Providing you with what you need and paying you more would have been better.

[TheTrickyWitch]

GP here. Getting really anxious tbh.

Demand is sky high and the coughs/colds haven't really hit yet. Call volume last week highest it has ever been to my practice. Loads of mental health issues and nothing much we can offer at the moment other than drugs.

Everyone really stepped up earlier this year but it has taken it's toll on us all. No more NHS love round our way. Lots of patients very unhappy with hospital delays and we are bearing the brunt of their frustration.

Government have ramped up patient expectation of normal service and it just isn't going to happen. We are already down front line staff to track and trace/family illness and that's only going to get worse. It's going to be a horrible winter!

[BlueCookieMonster]

Honestly, tired of it all. I’m fed up of the whole business of it all.

[Littleguggi]

Not hospital based but I am a children's mental health clinician (CAMHS) and our workload is suddenly ramping up, as if we aren't already stretched anyway. The backlog of cases has just got bigger. We are still seeing face to face and the level of anxiety in some children, young people and their families is through the roof. Families are not coping and we are having to do a lot of containment, despite not feeling very contained ourselves as we have families of our own we are trying to take care of! Just a sad situation really!

[PuppyLuff]

Nothing but dread. It's all beginning again. And then on the parent whatsapp are people going to softplay. I could cry.

[PrivateD00r]

Yup, we are all fed up too. Totally and utterly burnt out. I can't see how it is going to get any better! Most of us had to work through annual leave due to staffing, we all need time off. Even a full week would be amazing!!!!

My DC's school principal wrote a perfectly innocent email which started with 'I trust you all had a lovely relaxed summer holiday' and I actually burst into tears Totally irrational I know, but I am just so exhausted and didn't need reminded about what we are missing out on!

I absolutely love my job, it is amazing and feel really privileged to have it. However I suspect I won't be feeling the love for much longer

[labellesusage]

Dreading it.

[Fazabulous]

I work in one area of hospital bereavement services. You can imagine what that was like in March and April. I thought we did really well
under incredibly difficult circumstances. We’re trying to make sure that we are ready for anything, sort of hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

[Elsiebear90]

I work in cardiology outpatients, so not as bad as A&E or ITU, but we spend most of time cancelling or postponing appointments, dealing with complaints from patients, scared we’re going miss or postpone a patient who needed to be seen and they’re going to die because of it. We’ve moved to a remote appointment system and we feel like dodgy sales reps talking patients into signing up for it, then having irate family members call us complaining their elderly relative was “bullied” into having remote appointments when “they need to be seen in person”, also spend a huge chunk of our day answering questions about the remote system and having to repeatedly call patients who haven’t set it up correctly. At the moment we all feel really demoralised and are completely snowed under.

[frumpety]

Work in a District nursing team, fortunately we have been able to provide the same level of service as we did before Covid, with additional PPE. It feels like we are forgotton about because we don't have bed pressures like a ward, we are a ward without walls, and the referrals are coming thick and fast. I have to admit I am dreading the build up to mid/late October when I think we will see a peak.

[Didiplanthis]

Primary care here too.. worked flat out all through. AWAYS seen f2f patients when needed, had to adjust to/learn completely new ways of working literally overnight with no training, completely full to the rafters with patient contacts. Doing 14 hr days with no breaks while being constantly told by media and patients I am sitting on my arse doing nothing. Have utter fear about the next few months. I cannot physically see and do anymore but its going to keep on ramping up. Been doing this 20 years and never been this tired, this demoralised or this overwhelmed. I doubt I will make it through the winter in my job.. i don't think I can do it any more. I'm at my utter max and yet so much more is going to be needed.

[BatSegundo]

My thanks to all of you. I'm shielded and my every contact with the NHS in the last 6 months, from blood tests, to breast lumps to children with dislocated toes has been fantastic. I have always felt protected, cared for and listened to. I am so, so grateful and so very sorry that you're facing this.

You get so much of people's anger (not mine, I keep that for politicians!), I think because you're so good at listening and don't turn people away. I'm sorry that you have to deal with it when you're already carrying so much.

Please know that most people are trying hard and very grateful for all you do - we're just quieter!

[smilingthroughgrittedteeth]

Im not NHS but i just want to say thank you, we are doing all we can to stay healthy and apart from school and work are staying home so as not to catch or spread covid. I am utterly horrified at how selfish a large percentage of the british public are being. I can not understand the "im so fed up of it all so im not going to follow guidlines and am just going to live my life as normal" attitude.

[GalesThisMorning]

@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.

Me too. I second that. Thank you all

[Nextity]

Just wanted to add my thanks here as a non-nhs person. My family are doing our best to avoid needing any of your services at this time!

Just wanted to mention that the news from Oz/NZ/SA/South America is looking good for flu. The flu seasons there have been super mild to non-existant. The reduction in social contract has really hit flu numbers, even in places where covid has spread. Crossing fingers this will be one less thing for you to deal with, small comfort though that might be.

[Rupertpenrysmistress]

I thought it was just me and my team feeling flat but not sure why. We have several covid patients back having had none for several weeks. We also have visiting in our trust and I am fed up with the abuse I am taking whilst trying to enforce the visiting rules. Patients coming in to us are really sick as have waited a long time for their surgery so we are busy and acute but we are missing staff due to sickness for isolation or MH. Our trust has escalation wards they are not properly staffing so regularly pinching staff leaving us all short staffed. The masks are really tough to.

I think I feel more scared this time around as it feels never ending. The kids are back at school so we have that worry and from what I am seeing at work the general public have forgotten about covid or they think it does not exist in hospitals.
I feel awful for the patient's having appointments and operations cancelled the surgeons I work with really want to get on with it. Not a great deal of elective work taking place and that worries me.

[1happyhippie]

Non nhs here. Just wanted to say how much I appreciate all you lovely lot are doing.

I work in a carehome and can tell you we are also dreading what’s to come.
March/April were awful for us. We lost residents and had many staff members off sick, are were literally on our knees.
The thought of going through similar again is just too much!

[Tinkerbell2209]

GP Practice Admin here
Am shattered. Am fed up of being shouted at and sworn at. One little old lady last week told me to “F off” yesterday when I asked her to put a mask on. Last week a man refused to wear a mask for his face to face appointment despite having done so previously. When we said the nurse wouldn’t see him without, he said, well, I won’t have my appointment then, expecting us to roll over and see him without. When we said that’s fine, Sir, that’s your choice, he told the Receptionist that if he died because he hadn’t been seen it would be on her head. He was having his ears syringed!

Now everyone is moaning they can’t have their flu jab yet when we haven’t even had our first delivery of vaccines yet - that’s my fault apparently. We’re all on our knees yet it’s still not enough.

[PineappleUpsideDownCake]

Im not nhs but so sad reading this thread. Im med risk so taking precautions but school mums are back to normal now schools are back and the message of eat out and go back to work makes most people think its going to be fine. Or that it wont affect them as they're youngish. I have several health conditions and am m.obese so more wary than them but the contrast with their approach and this thread is shocking.

[ZigZagToTheBeach]

Working with extremely vulnerable patients who use AGP devices long term. We are largely carrying out telephone consultations instead of F2F but when patients do come in its full PPE.
I was redeployed end-March to mid-June and I really struggle to know how I will cope again mentally when I am redeployed again. I still feel emotional remembering us desperately treating our unbelievably unwell patients knowing that there was a good chance they weren't going to make it 😭 I really hope treatment has moved on even a little.

[ZigZagToTheBeach]

@1happyhippie

Non nhs here. Just wanted to say how much I appreciate all you lovely lot are doing.

I work in a carehome and can tell you we are also dreading what’s to come.
March/April were awful for us. We lost residents and had many staff members off sick, are were literally on our knees.
The thought of going through similar again is just too much!

@1happyhippie you guys were really shat on from a great height and I really feel for you. I am so sorry that it has been so awful for you.

[midgebabe]

Second all the good wishes and promises to take every effort to avoid needing to meet you . Hopefully there are enough of us for that to be of some practical use