A snapshot of a regular day for a health professional working at a major hospital
As soon as we enter the workplace we are screened. Screening consists of a short questionnaire and having your temperature taken, after which point you’re given a ‘staff’ sticker and off you go to your ward (making sure you have gelled your hands with hospital grade hand gel/wash as you enter the lift!).
After washing hands and putting on a mask, we go to greet our assigned patients. We’re mindful of the fact they can’t see our friendly smile behind the masks, so we try to convey empathy and kindness through our eyes and body language
Should we be assigned a patient who has been Covid-19 swabbed and is awaiting results, we don Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which includes a gown, mask, shield and sterile gloves. As it is very laborious taking all this gear off in a particular way, a “runner” is often assigned — this is a person who remains on the outside of the room, contactable via phone, who will fetch equipment that they can leave in a specified area accessible to the person wearing the PPE.
Believe me when I say that even just wearing a mask can leave you hot and breathless, and wearing PPE is even more uncomfortable. However, we on the frontline bear this with grace — we know that not adhering to these measures can cause death. Dramatic I know, but ultimately the truth.
This is a huge responsibility for all those working in health facilities and it causes anxiety and fatigue. It is not helped by the fact that the very people we are helping are restricted in who they can have as support, so they are also often anxious. If you find yourself in this position, please bear in mind that we are in this together. Although we may wear a mask and you cannot see our faces, we are sympathetic to your lack of support, feelings of isolation, and fear of the unknown. We feel that too.
When we finish our shifts, we are careful when removing our clothes within our homes, and we ensure they are washed before we interact with the people we share our homes with. Some of us have to reassure our loved ones that, yes, we have taken all precautions possible — all day, every day.
And when finally we take our weary selves to bed, we hope sleep comes to us – as the anxieties of others, and the expectations and demands during our working day, run like a silent reel in our minds, on a loop going over decisions made, words said …
As sleep finally takes us into oblivion, the alarm on the mobile phone heralds the beginning of much of the same which went before, only this time different people to care for.
By Lady Grey
The Coburg Meddler 