What will the NHS look like with covid measures lifted moving forward?

[yellowbananasw]

Since the pandemic started, very little has changed in the NHS / hospitals - all masks, testing, social distancing, can't come to work with cases at home, redeployment with shortages, lots of testing, lots of ward outbreaks closing units down, daily PCRs - list goes on and it's all quite exhausting.

It's obvious the government is taking all the restrictions away over the next couple of months and letting everyone get back to normal (I don't necessarily have an issues with that) but I'm curious what the NHS / hospitals will be like.

Will we all be able to ditch masks and social distancing? Stop testing all the time? admit covid positive patients to normal wards (in side rooms like we used to with flu etc) and not shut them down? Come to work with covid?

It all seems so far removed from hospital life now - but I don't want to work in the current NHS for much longer so I'd be happy on one level and horrified on another!

I really hope so. Communication has taken a real nose dive between my colleagues and I since we have to wear masks all the time.

I am keen to know what will happen with visiting, even if it has to have safeguards in place like 1 visitor only with a negative lateral flow at a pre booked time. My grandma was in hospital recently and not being able to visit or get information was awful.

@musicalfrog

I really hope so. Communication has taken a real nose dive between my colleagues and I since we have to wear masks all the time.

It really has. As has rapport with patients. I can't recognise most of my outpatients in the waiting room and most inpatients can't understand me most of the time.

I’m not hanging around to find out.
I’m leaving the NHS after over 30 years service.
I can’t face it, can’t be a part of it any longer.

I’ve had enough.
I’m also investing in private health care.

I wish my wonderful colleagues the very best of luck though with whatever presents.

@Hollyhead

I am keen to know what will happen with visiting, even if it has to have safeguards in place like 1 visitor only with a negative lateral flow at a pre booked time. My grandma was in hospital recently and not being able to visit or get information was awful.

Yes this is another big area that needs considering.

@Diditopknot

I’m not hanging around to find out. I’m leaving the NHS after over 30 years service. I can’t face it, can’t be a part of it any longer.

I’ve had enough.
I’m also investing in private health care.

I wish my wonderful colleagues the very best of luck though with whatever presents.

I don't blame you.

I can't do this job indefinitely in masks / plastic / constant changing into scrubs / FFP3s at times. Poor communication, hot, headaches, can't be understood on the phone, can't do my assessments properly, can't talk to relatives properly as they can't come in, restricted access to procedures - this list goes on.

Shameless bump for the evening crowd!

Where I am we’re still 2 weeks behind London’s Peak numbers, we have well over 6000 +ve cases in the area (according to Zoe app) and over 70 patients in hospital with Covid. We’re on our knees.
We’ve been told we won’t be dropping restrictions within our Trust and will be keeping to local guidelines.

Up to now every national announcement has been rapidly followed with "Trust" guidance that is much more cautious. I don't expect a dramatic change anytime soon.

@notagainnotagain

Up to now every national announcement has been rapidly followed with "Trust" guidance that is much more cautious. I don't expect a dramatic change anytime soon.

Yes, this has been at the Trust I work for as well. It's almost like NHS trusts make decisions based on evidence.

I doubt we’ll be dropping restrictions - I work in an area with CEV patients, and even if Omicron is harmless to me, it isn’t to them (you’d be very brave to start chemo on somebody with active covid, for example).

Would be nice to ditch the entirely pointless visor and plastic pinny in outpatients though.

Just this morning when doing my daily LFT I had a ‘how much longer will we be doing this for moment?’.

It suddenly hit me how weary I’ve become of it all. No visitors, the PPE, the testing, the additional admin and risk assessments before I can do a home visit. It’s all caught up with me this week. I don’t know why but my tolerance is being pushed to its limits.

Once we’re accepting that it’s become endemic then surely we revert back to the pre pandemic set up with barrier rooms and additional precautions for those with covid / flu / D&V etc. Large outbreaks may need additional measures as they always have. Winters will always be a time of high pressure.

But in reality we’re going to be in constant crisis until the care sector staffing situation is vastly improved.

Nothing will be changing in our trust. We have outbreak after outbreak at the moment. Definitely won't be ditching my mask.

I don't mean so much in the next couple of months - that won't see any changes in hospital as you say.

I'm more thinking if all restrictions stop outside of the NHS and all are in place inside the NHS, at what point does anything change or will we be like this at work in 6 months....12 months....forever? It kind of feels like it'll be like it forever.

You’ll be a lot busier come April when there is pressure to catch up on waiting lists and around 10% fewer staff.

@WouldIBeATwat

You’ll be a lot busier come April when there is pressure to catch up on waiting lists and around 10% fewer staff.

That’s not been introduced in Wales so perhaps our staffing situation will improve 🤞🏻

@Muchtoomuchtodo

Just this morning when doing my daily LFT I had a ‘how much longer will we be doing this for moment?’.

It suddenly hit me how weary I’ve become of it all. No visitors, the PPE, the testing, the additional admin and risk assessments before I can do a home visit. It’s all caught up with me this week. I don’t know why but my tolerance is being pushed to its limits.

Once we’re accepting that it’s become endemic then surely we revert back to the pre pandemic set up with barrier rooms and additional precautions for those with covid / flu / D&V etc. Large outbreaks may need additional measures as they always have. Winters will always be a time of high pressure.

But in reality we’re going to be in constant crisis until the care sector staffing situation is vastly improved.

This is me this week tbh. I'm so tired of it all.

I need to know there is some light at the end of the tunnel where we will go back to pre pandemic ICP and that this isn't the new normal. I don't mind the extreme business, I just want to be able to do my job in the normal way while I'm dealing with it.

We too have outbreak after outbreak. 3 1/2 wards out of 6 acute wards shut. Can't discharge people back to care homes from outbreak wards. We are finding them on routine 5 day swabbing. Very few are ill from Covid. Many are medically fit and remain so despite it. Yet those who we are trying to admit and treat are unable to get in the hospital due to poor flow as we can't discharge patients. Very frustrating, and indeed unsafe for those needing acute care.

That’s not been introduced in Wales so perhaps our staffing situation will improve 🤞🏻

I’ve just moved from NHS Wales. The waiting list pressure is definitely coming (like a tidal wave).