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It already is TJ but probably more geared up on the emergency side ie. Ambulance, Fire service and Police where there is a very high incidence of PTSD due to the nature of the job. From previous experience, counsellors are inundated, how they will cope with the numbers is anyone's guess.
Wife says it’s a bit bizarre in ED at the moment.
Lots of flow so patients getting through the system and admitted to wards quickly.
Less of the people who shouldn’t really be in ED that they are normally full up with.
Starting to see more people, especially younger ones, coming in with more serious Corvid symptoms though.
She and her colleagues thinks that it’s the ICUnand other depts taking the brunt at the moment but they are all just waiting for it to get worse. Expecting that to start happening within next week, especially as a result of last weekends shenanigans.
Definitely a feel of them calm before the storm’.
Finally got a mask fitting. Yesterday had a full day of lectures about ventilators and it's been about 18 years since I left but it's coming back. Thank god for you tube and the draeger videos. Spending two days in ICU next week as we're opening up recovery as ICU. I work great under pressure just desperate to get on with it. Days off spent reading up on things. Trying to keep my work colleagues entertained with tons of humour....
Cathnash, wife's unit has set up a Facebook morale page doing similar to try to keep spirits up.
I've sort of settled with fact I can't commit to help due to childcare but still tough watching wife go out to work. At least she managed get a decent 1/2 face respirator mask with replaceable filters due to her asthma and I've trained her on correct fit/ use - trust face fit tester sound hopeless and giving dodgy advice. Starting to build up her unit now.
My community mental health service has shut down and I'm now working nights on my trust's 24hr crisis line. Compared to colleagues and friends in hospitals I have it very easy!!
I've done a few shifts this week and our service users are really struggling with this isolation, it's to be expected, but it still worries me because we're not even that deep into it yet.
We must isolate to save lives, it's our only option, but it's going to do a lot of harm to people living with mental health issues. So many coping strategies are not an option anymore and a lot of people are trapped in some pretty dire environments, either alone or with unsympathetic family members.
If you're reading this and you know anyone who's living with mental health issues please reach out to them, it makes a huge difference to people if they know they're not alone.
Definitely a feel of them calm before the storm’.
Our city hospital has the entire ED and ICU pretty much full of covid-19 patients. The stories are coming out about how crazy it is, but covid-19 patients are not being left to it. Yet.
Remember the steepness of the curve and think that the 'proper' facilities are now full....
Borders closed between states and territories now.
Our premier has said no travel within WA unless necessary for work or healthcare needs.
Feeling like we're sat at the edge of a big wave that's about to crash.
Kids are at home. Schools aren't closed but are "pupil free" which is an odd way of saying they're closed, but they want to keep healthcare workers working so the schools are open for essential workers, essentially. Wife's WFH too.
Had to nip to the supermarket this morning for milk. Zero distancing. People acting as normal. Quite scary given the prospect of what will soon unfold.
Anyway, just clocked on for my PM shift. Here til 10pm. Have some home visits to give people depots (long acting anti-psychotic medication) and have been issued masks to wear (not n95 ones though) and the usual gloves and hand gel in my depot bag.
I'm feeling fine. No symptoms. Eagerly awaiting the flu jabs to become available as I'll get one at the start of the season and one mid-end of the season (there's usually and A and B variant).
We're expecting a surge of depression/anxiety/suicide with all the unemployment. Also a surge in meth use (and other substances) when the govt starts giving people "extra" cash. Not the kind of fiscal stimulation they were hoping to see. And as more colleagues have to stay at home or get ill, our workload is going to shoot up. Plus I'm T1 diabetic so have to keep myself as well as possible so that I can help others and not be forced to stay home.
Hope everyone is keeping well.
Very odd atmosphere in our hospital the last few days. It’s like a ghost town. The staff you do see all look tired and fearful. Cases are doubling daily, deaths every 2/3 days.
Apparently modelling suggests we will be behind the national curve but will become a national hotspot (a mainly rural county with many elderly)
Will counselling be made available for these staff?
We have a psychologist allocated specifically for staff well-being at this time.
In our CMHT it's very much shut down at moment. CPns still doing depot and lithium clinics; Duty desk has been unusually quiet and we are doing only emergency visits; this week I did not do any visits all week. Just telephone assessments and calling clients to check how they are doing.
We know this is not going to last much longer. The nature of our clients illnesses/disorders will mean it's gonna kick off very soon, and because our team unfortunately has had the depressingly typical huge number of staff taking the 7-14 days off at first opportunity, when shit does hit fan it can be expected these same staff will very likely go off for another excuse then too which will leave the rest of us in very difficult situations.
My wife has worked the Covid wards since the first case in our area. She is only being fitted for a mask on Sunday .. she is working the ward today without one of course!
It boils my piss how some NHS staff miles away from from the front line are attention seeking on social media during this crisis. My neighbour who works in my team was on doorstep the other night milking the neighbors clapping .. my neighbour is in same team as myself, has had no contact with anyone with covid .. our team are pretty much shut down and isolated so at little risk.
Yet my wife, her colleagues and the other front line nurses & doctors are doing the job without the need to post Facebook pictures selling themselves as hero's.
*Appols .. rant over
If its any help Mooman I am now feeling a fraud - been in isolation ( need by guidelines) for 10 days now so not been in to work. Even when I go back I will be in a low risk ( for nursing) job
But I am still scared as well!
No intention of having a go at you or anyone else on here TJagain - appols if it came across that way.
I went into garage to pay for petrol yesterday and was wearing my NHS lanyard (as advised because police pulling cars over to ask why out) person serving identified me as a NHS worker and tried to call me to front of queue .. I refused, but felt a huge fraud!
Nothing fraudulent about either of you, snap out of it! NHS is one of the best things we have in this country and you've both dedicated yourselves to that. Please don't forget it, we won't 😉
Not taken in that way at all Mooman - just trying to show how its doing funny things to many of our heads 🙂
I have no idea where my NHS ID is - we never use them!
A+E nurse here in the north east, its a strange time up here at the moment - the Hospital is empty, The waiting room is empty. We are steadily seeing an increase in the number of Covid patients coming through, but few are currently requiring ventilating. I've little doubt that in a week or two the situation is going to be less chilled.
As an aside, i've just received a message asking for volunteers for the Nightingale monster hospital in London - if nothing else the intrigue of such an enormous facility has me sticking my hand in the air.
tjagain
Member
If its any help Mooman I am now feeling a fraud – been in isolation ( need by guidelines) for 10 days now so not been in to work. Even when I go back I will be in a low risk ( for nursing) job
But I am still scared as well!
So much this.
Also been in isolation and feel a fraud.
Done nothing, the big clap the other day made me feel weak and undeserving
Nothing I can do however, they wouldn't have me back whilst symptomatic.
Ah well, back on Monday.
Sounds odd, but I can't wait to get stuck in.
It's what I signed up for.
Yes Smogmonster thanks to pathway reviews, less people calling and lots not wanting to go to hospital it is easing the weather unnecessary work we usually see.
I’m off for 2 weeks except for a few I’ve agreed to do as overtime, I don’t do overtime, to help out.
I’m contemplating the nightingale thing not seen any requests yet or put myself on the list. I need to discuss it with my family first.
@smogmonster
Strange phenomenon having an empty waiting room. Shows how few people really need to go to A&E on a 'normal' day. Hopefully this will have a knock-on effect when this is all over and alter (some) of the public perception of what A&E and the ambulance service is actually there for.
The Nightingale hospitals look both incredible and scary - if staff travel down to London to staff it, when will they be allowed back home around the country, as presumably there's a transmission risk?
MrsMC is a children's social worker. Working from home, no visits being done despite legal requirement in some cases, just one day a week in the office covering duty calls. Expecting it to ramp up after families have a few more weeks cooped up at home.
It boils my piss how some NHS staff miles away from from the front line are attention seeking on social media during this crisis.
< half raises hand >
Hope I'm not attention seeking, and taking into account your later comments Mooman, please take this with the good humour it was intended.
As I said, I'm in IT, the absolute definition of "miles off the front line" - I'm not in a hospital, I'm in an office. The only PPE I get is a pair of gloves and a bucket of Isoclene wipes for when I'm handed laptops to work on. The greatest risk of exposure for me is the people handing me the laptops. But...
I'm supporting 4000+ staff in Primary Care who are all shitting themselves and panicking, isolating themselves and unwittingly increasing the load on everyone else. Note - not blaming them for that, it's human nature. Me and my very small team have built, imaged and deployed nearly 500 new laptops in the past fortnight, repaired a hundred more, developed extra VPN services, sorted newly discovered issues with digital Fit Notes, bailed out one of our major system providers who've utterly bungled a software rollout, kept the lights on and the day-to-day rolling while ramping up our own projects, because we don't have the luxury of putting things on the back burner if GPs need them yesterday.
All that said, I'll happily join TJ in the 'feeling like a bit of a fraud' camp, especially when I waved my badge for early access to Morrisons this morning. But as a friend described my team the other day, we're the 'grey staff' - nobody knows we are there, nobody knows what we do, but an awful lot of fairly essential things don't work without us, and we're being put under pressure by this as well - different pressures, I've absolutely no doubt, and I don't envy front-line staff one iota right at this moment in time. But the whole system is under extra pressure all the same, and some people will be dicks and some will be decent. I'm hoping I'm one of the latter, but YMMV 😉
So many behind the scenes heroes that the frontline staff rely on to perform their miracles - don't put yourselves down.
It boils my piss how some NHS staff miles away from from the front line are attention seeking on social media during this crisis.
I hope I don't fall into this category, tell me if I do.
I'm a TNA in a secure mental hospital. No cases as yet. I think I'm in one of the safest places in the NHS. Some service users are allowed leave, so we all share responsibility.
ITU consultant in a largish DGH.
We’re busier than normal but it’s not gone mad yet… All seems a bit unreal at the moment but meanwhile we’re pulling back anyone, medical or nursing, with recent ITU experience. Emergency rotas kick in on Mon.
Personal anxiety levels not being helped as the (domestic) boss is also a consultant in an acute specialty.
Good luck all, and stay safe.
Rusty Spanner
Subscriber
It boils my piss how some NHS staff miles away from from the front line are attention seeking on social media during this crisis.I hope I don’t fall into this category, tell me if I do.
I assume only you can honestly answer that.
Being based at a NHS mental health hospital myself, and spending lots of time at various private and NHS secure mental health hospitals I know full well what trained staff are expected to do - and I also know what trainees are expected to do.
In that case, I'm quite happy.
The only social media I do is this place and a couple of guitar forums and they have no idea what I do.
The TNA course has been fantastic - we don't have the responsibility of being in charge of a ward, there is always a qualified nurse on site. It gives us more time to spend with service users, as per the job spec.
Apart from that and dispensing CD's, we do pretty much everything else - CPA's, ward rounds, we have responsibility for our own named service users etc.
I've been on three very different wards at my base and had placements throughout the NHS.
I'm happy to say I've been offered a job when I qualify in June. I've enjoyed pretty much all of it, but will be staying in forensic mental health for the time being.
Mrs Danny is back to work on Monday. As a nurse on a specialist thoracic ward she's going to be in the thick of it.
Can't say either of us are particularly looking forward to it. Shit kind of gets real...
Lab tech in a microbiology lab.
Feeling a bit guilty this week as well, our workload has dropped 50%, I'm still expected in work to take the opportunity to catch up with paperwork. I suggested this was non essential in the current climate and we should follow the advice and stay home; operate the lab on a skeleton staff, but was essentially accused of being lazy, told I could go and work on a ward or go home without pay.
It's strange for us really, our work is essential, as case numbers rise, we will be busy again and I can also be quickly trained cross department in the path lab to help out, plus we'll still no doubt end up short of staff soon, we've already got a couple self isolating. But right now, we're quiet.
I'm no more capable of helping out on a ward as any Joe off the street, but likewise if I go off sick, there's only a handful of people can fulfill my role.
I am wondering what long term impact the current lack of samples being sent in will have, infections must be being treated without confirming the correct antibiotics have been prescribed, routine screening has stopped and we only had two fungal toe nails this week instead of the usual 40!!
Rustyspanner - glad your enjoying it. Forensics isn't for everyone; I did a 3mth stint within a forensics team ... Not for me though; because of the nature of the area there not a lot to do .. most boring area I have worked in.
infections must be being treated without confirming the correct antibiotics have been prescribed, routine screening has stopped and we only had two fungal toe nails this week instead of the usual 40!!
Our ED is almost empty, people just not coming in the front door. Since the lockdown general sickness in the population should have dropped, but what’s happened to the generally older sicker patients that would be coming through the door? Are they all just dying at home?
It’s very very odd
At the hospital my wife works, they had 3 wards for covid patients - they increased that to 5 today. The youngest person of the 31 patients she has to nurse is 61yrs old .. most very much older; so it looks like the old ones getting hit hard as expected.
Mrs Nobeer is a nurse in macular degeneration clinic, basically elderly or folks with certain conditions who get injections into their eyes to keep their sight going.
They've been told they'll be keeping going, as a couple of months of missing present will render lots of folks blind, but bound to be absorbed into the battle when shit hits the fan.
All I can do is look after her, and keep her strong, loved and happy.
Feel rather helpless tbh, I wish I could do more.
God bless all you guys, I hope people remember the part all of you play, and we don't go back to our old ways.
💙
most boring area I have worked in.
I get that. 🙂
I've worked on high dependency wards where I felt more like a prison officer than a TNA, but am now on a step down ward.
I love it.
We get time to prepare people for release who have been very unwell and are now ready to get on with their lives in the community. We get to work with a huge range of professionals and engage with all aspects of rehabilitation. I love it.
Before this I was a Neuro Rehab Coach in the private sector.
We had our clients for a maximum of two years, providing them with intense rehabilitation designed to help them to live as independently as possible after severe acquired brain injuries.
I like having that time to spend with people, to see the process and the progress.
I'm completely in awe of those who work in emergency units - my last placement was at an Urgent Care Centre and the staff there and in similar emergency areas are a cut above. Some are on my course, having been HCA's for years - they have a different mentality.
They find what I do equally incomprehensible. 🙂
BTW, thanks to everyone. One of the reasons I joined the NHS was because of the positivity of some of the posters on here.
It's changed my life.
Love to all.
God bless all you guys, I hope people remember the part all of you play, and we don’t go back to our old ways.
+1000
Well we had an email today informing us that most of us social workers and OTs would be redeployed to either local hospitals to arrange hospital discharges or to care agencies to do personal care etc.
We were informed that our hours would change from usual 8:30am - 5pm to now cover 7am - 11am seven days a week including bank holidays.
Already those with children are stating they cant/wont do it - already those caring for older parents are saying the same - already those with health conditions are off anyways ... will be interesting tomorrow to see who actually agrees to it.
Good luck mooman.
Feeling a bit sniffy and blocked up this morning. Yesterday (Monday) was my Friday (shift workers will understand)
Drank a bottle of Malbec. Unwound. We'd spent the day reorganising the office and splitting teams up as we all work close. That way if one person goes off we don't lose a whole team. Also been setting up MS Team so we can all communicate. Unfortunately I'm testing this on my personal phone and have my Outlook set up too. Days off and still checking my mail.
NHS England.
This is ****ing ridiculous:
If you work for the NHS and if you self isolate due to symptoms of Covid or due to household member having symptoms CHECK as in PROPERLY CHECK whether the time you isolate will be counted in the "disciplinary"/"fitness to work"/Whatever-its called process.
That is, if you get symptoms or a household member gets symptoms, then to avoid triggering the process that ultimately ends with you getting fired, you'll need to go into work.
So don't believe what you hear in the daily briefing, don't ask your mate, or the ward manager, or the WhaysApp group, or the department head. Ask the trust HR director. By email.
Because this is an actual ****ing thing staff are getting mixed messages about.
The NHS management is this ****ing mangled.
As it's "winter" here they have just released this seasons flu jabs. Got an email from my GP yesterday and booked myself in. Had it done about an hour ago rather than waiting for my health depts to get them in and mass-jab the hospital and clinic.
Hope everyone is hanging in there.
Front line for me tomorrow.. Am spending the weekend working shifts on a Covid assessment and admission unit in a large general hospital. To be fair, I'm pretty nervous, this is wholly new territory for me. It's going to be a steep learning curve, I suspect.
good luck highland man
I'm working at the tip of the pointy end, in ITU. We arrive for work, change into scrubs then queue at the door to put on our PPE. This involves wearing a theatre gown, two plastic aprons, one hitched up to cover your upper body, and another to cover your waist and lower legs. Then a pair of blue nitrile gloves, then a pair of longer, different coloured gloves that reach your mid fore arms; this counts as your 'skin', so any close contact requires another apron and another third pair of gloves. People have been fit tested for a variety of FP3 masks, depends a lot on your facial shape and head size. Now masked and gowned, i need to use a visor to allow the use of glasses, others can use standard goggles or safety glasses.
Because we all look alike, we get our name and ITU or Non ITU written across our back in felt tip, as well as getting taped up to avoid exposing shoulders or necks too much. I go for the football jersey style with my name right across my shoulders.
It is easy to tell the ITU nurses; we swear better than everyone else.
We also get a time written on our back; that's when you entered, you get 3-4 hours inside until you have to step out, removing each item of PPE in a structured way, reducing your chance of inadvertent exposure, finishing off by wiping shoes/crocs down with a bleach solution, stepping out and then removing your FP3 mask, with handwashing during each stage of the removal process.
You sweat. Constantly. Your hands under 2 or 3 layers of glove are wrinkly like too long in the bath. Your feet rub in your wet socks. Your scrubs are wet from about 1 hour onwards. Your mask is comfortable for about 20 minutes, then it starts to hurt across the bridge of your nose, as if it has been sunburned then rubbed with a pan scourer. Your cheeks feel the same, and I've got lines under my eyes 18 hours later.
12 hours worth of this is tiring and not really any fun, plus the ward is being 'seeded' with non ITU nurses in an attempt to spread and improve skills across the board. This occasionally involves waiting for people to calm down, to wipe tears away, then carrying on. ITU is very, very different to working elsewhere, and no one is expecting people to cope straightaway. The actual ITU work is pretty much the same, although with more use of the prone position to alter the interaction between the patients lungs and the ventilator.
We have developed a number of outlying ITUs, using one for proven negative patients where PPE is not needed.
We are managing well at present, but any significant surge will be a further challenge. Morale is good, our management have done a good job, with lots of back checking with our clinical staff before any decisions are formalised. We are working at pretty much full gas, hopefully to manage what we have to.
The lack of any visiting makes telephone contact with relatives an extremely important part of our role, and we're doing the best we can to not only inform but also support, reassure and just be kind to those stuck at home. We might end up using some form of visual reporting to allow people to see what's going on, but we may not have the time or the opportunity, Information Governance regulations aside...
Questions?
Yep tomorrow will be my first proper shift in it. Working in a non-respiratory but acute specialty. Half of our wards are full of Covid and I will be down in A&E for much of the day so I will be in the thick of it. Can't say I'm looking forward to it.
My wife is currently on hold at 111. Woke up with a headache, sniffles, cough and a slightly high temperature. Already notified her boss that she is self-isolating. I doubt she'll be tested as she is only an NHS employee, not a politician, celebrity or royalty.
@TJ, 30 year old ITU experience is better than none; we could do with a hand.
Fantastic post crikey - you and your colleagues are doing incredible work in incredibly hard circumstances