‘A first-hand account of what it’s like to work on the frontlines of Covid’

It’s no secret that it’s been a tough year for medical workers. Those working on the frontlines and dealing with Covid-19 patients on a daily basis are overworked and exhausted and with countries like the United Kingdom and the United States still in a state of major lockdown it appears there’s no end in sight for them.

A long-standing friend of mine, Pamela, lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK, wrote to me in September to share her family news. She has three daughters, all of whom work in the UK national health service. Her youngest daughter, Alexandra, is a nurse working in an intensive care unit in Barnsley Hospital has always enjoyed caring for patients coming out of surgery, however, she told her mother that the situation at the hospital was awful now.

Alexandra said when she arrives at work she has to take off all her clothes and put on personal protective equipment (PPE) clothing. Every time she leaves the ward she has to take off the PPE, presumably to put her usual work uniform back on, and then when going back into the ward, put on the PPE again. She said the days are long and exhausting, but before she can go home, she has to take a shower. She told her mother that some days when she gets home she goes straight to bed. At the time of her mother writing, there were three Covid-19 patients in the hospital.

I asked a French friend of mine who is a nurse in a Paris hospital what work is like for her now.

She replied: “I believe all intensive care units around the world are going through the same thing. Care procedures are cumbersome. We put on protective clothing before entering a room for the slightest care. Hat, glasses, filtering mask (even less comfortable than the small blue masks!), and PPE gear over our work clothes. It quickly gets very hot. The care is long on these complex patients. Caregivers are afraid of infecting themselves, but even more so of infecting their families. It is very stressful.”

She added that she worries about a second wave hitting France and that she, and the doctors and nurses she works with, worry they won’t be able to treat an influx of patients properly with the care and attention that is required.

Having read those accounts, when I listen to the news and hear of the number of people with severe Covid symptoms arriving in hospitals, I can visualise what staff are going through. And let’s not forget all the other hospital workers also dealing with heightened stress: cleaners, cooks, admin staff, support workers and more. They have to take the same precautions and they too are putting their lives at risk.