Pressure on frontline NHS staff

[addictedtotheflats]

Im a senior nurse in an a&e department in a Tier 2 area and its SO busy. I’ve been so resilient and positive (mentally not covid) but I think its getting a bit much now. Im sick of see posts in the media about how hospitals are empty and NHS workers are basically dossing. A&e is constantly full, we have 25+ covid patients waiting for beds upto 18 hours who we are expected to care for on top of 60+ other patients. This wave is different to the last one, people werent coming in for minor ailments in april-june but now people arent scared, we are the easy option for people to get seen by a doctor on the same day. Symptomatic patients lining the corridors because we have no more isolation space, staff going off for 2 weeks either positive or exposed in the household, I just feel like its beyond unsustainable, my team all work so hard 24/7. I’m not sure what I want from this post, just finished a hideous 13 hour shift, half of which felt unsafe because of acuity, high attendances and staffing pressures. Anyone else in the same situation?

I work for a big hospital in 'management' and i have had stressful jobs in the past but I have never worked as much as I am working at the moment and I am absolutely exhausted.

I tend to work 8am to 6.30pm sort the kids out have dinner and work from about 10pm to 12 on repeat since April. There is so much work going on in the hospital

A lot of nhs staff are absolutely exhausted.

I really take my hat off to clinical staff on the front line - you are amazing!

Thanks to you all 👋👋👋👋👋👋

OMG @Pickypolly I am so sorry ... I glad you found another job x

@Babyroobs that makes me so sad and Matt fuckwit Hancock said nhs is fine I am disgusted I truly am x

I think Ecosse is either underestimating or ignorant of the amount of training, skill and experience it takes to look after a ventilated and filtered patient. Most nurses do not have this skill. I say this as a theatre nurse who was —thrown in— redeployed to ITU during the last wave. I never want to do that again.

Op are up north in one of the worst hit areas?

@dollychopss I am up north, in Yorkshire.

@toxtethOgradyUSA Ecosse, did you namechange??

@Sweetnhappy1 think similar views .. on a few nhs threads.

@toxtethOgradyUSA
In fairness, if they are leaving critical care units at the present time, it suggests that critical care perhaps is not the profession for them, so probably for the best.

Another keyboard warrior.

Thank you all NHS staff - hugely appreciative of all you do in often very difficult conditions. Please let us know if there is anything we non medically trained (and to be honest, feeling a bit helpless and useless) people can do. I've been writing to my MP - most recently suggesting that the MP pay rise might be better spent in the NHS.

It's not much, but better than nothing I hope.

I'm still very grateful x

I've nursed in wards and in the community during this, couldn't handle the wards, I've never liked ward work really but now it is even more challenging. I was caring for people who were palliative with Covid and honestly I am just not cut out for that, it is harrowing! Community we are over stretched and seeing more people than ever. It's hard, really hard.

Huge respect to all HCPs working through this, I think there will be many leaving and traumatised at the end of this, particularly a&e and itu staff- I could never do those roles even pre-Covid, I had a placement in itu when I trained and it nearly ended my nursing career before I even got my registration, it is a whole other world, one I am not cut out for!

Thank you to everyone doing all they can to care right now and please, please try and make time for some self-care.

I really wish , without making this political, that it was the nurses and doctors going on to tv and telling people the truth. Because I am sick of people saying things like boris won’t muzzle me , he has no right to lock us down , ruin our Christmas etc etc . Just because they “hate “ him they won’t conform. And that’s scary .

You need an appeal to make people listen . From the people on the front line.

@toxtethOgradyUSA

Get back into your cave.

@Dreamylemon

“I'm frightened- this time by the attitudes of people more than the virus itself. “

You have summed up how I feel this time around

[quote addictedtotheflats]@dollychopss I am up north, in Yorkshire.[/quote]
I am down south and our hospitals are filling up again! :-(

I feel for you guys

I am not sure anyone can understand palliative care who has not done it. I worked in a hospice for three years the nurses were amazing. Dying is not always peaceful. Dylan Thomas poem the line Do not go gentle into that good night is very apt.

In fairness, if they are leaving critical care units at the present time, it suggests that critical care perhaps is not the profession for them, so probably for the best.

In fairness it suggests that the NHS was already buckling from lack of investment and proper management and staff were already under a huge amount of pressure and a pandemic has added to that burden massively.
HCPs are not robots, they're not conscripts and they're not miracle workers.
I'd suggest people like the two posters saying stuff like this put their money where their mouth is and get off their keyboards and go and do the job, for years, under those conditions and then see how they feel.

@justasking111

I am not sure anyone can understand palliative care who has not done it. I worked in a hospice for three years the nurses were amazing. Dying is not always peaceful. Dylan Thomas poem the line Do not go gentle into that good night is very apt.

I did it for fifteen years working in a hospice. I left totally burnt out with mental health issues. I left Nursing altogether and do a much easier job now !

@toxtethOgradyUSA Ecosse, did you namechange

My thought exactly. The same glib and unthinking "solutions". :o

I understand how bad it is I'm not a nurse but I'm a care Assistant dealing with 14 covid patients in my residential home. In full ppe and long shifts. You guys are getting treated so badly my heart goes out to u all

Vivana Don’t think your incredible work is going unnoticed. Thank you.

“In fairness” yeah, it’s taken nearly 30 years to realise that icu isn’t for me.
Good job I realised now and how I would welcome being forced into not leaving at this time of pandemic!!
Pure selfish I & many of my broken colleagues are.

Where do these people come from that make such comments?
Thank goodness for the logical thinkers amongst us.

It’s much much worse than it was the 1st time around, if I could stand each of you on the edge for 10 minutes to just peek in, you would be horrified.

Please stick to the rules, for us, just please do it.

The same glib and unthinking "solutions".

Yes and this illustrates perfectly why private companies with no public health or medical expertise (including 'management consultants') shouldn't be getting money better spent within the NHS.