Another month, another post moaning about what’s going on in the hospital.
Though, this isn’t a moan for a change.I posted in July about how ‘we aren’t out of the woods yet but we’re getting there’, well that didn’t happen, things got much worse. In November, I posted that the wards are filling up with COVID-19 patients but I didn’t know just how serious that would turn out to be.
The hospital is filling back up with COVID-19 patients, it’s getting as bad as it was the first time around.
In some places it’s actually worse.Everyone is still smiling but for most staff, myself included, the worry is there. The worry isn’t for ourselves but for our loved ones we might pass the virus on to. I don’t want people I love to suffer just because I work in a hospital but no one says a word about the fact that knowing me means they’re more at risk of catching coronavirus.
My family, my friends and my colleagues are supportive regardless.I post something like this every few months but as I said at the time, I think it’s important to take a note of what’s going on and what people are doing about it.I don’t have the most important job in the hospital, far from it, but I firmly believe that we are ‘one team for patient care’, everyone has a role to play in keeping our hospital running and fit for purpose.
What I do matters in the grand scheme of things, that’s why I don’t mind doing it despite the risks to myself and that’s why I’m proud to work for the NHS.Once we’ve beaten this, it’ll be important for our own mental health to reflect on everything.NHS staff have been under immense pressure and stress since early 2020, things got a wee bit better before plunging back into a terrifying situation. We aren’t beaten, though.
I suppose the main reason I’m posting this is to let people I work with know that it can only get better. Now more than ever, I’ve noticed that staff in the hospital (of all roles, in all departments) have went above and beyond their normal duties in order to deliver or to support patient care during this unprecedented time of crisis. Everyone from domestics to doctors are working flat out and going the extra mile to keep the hospital running, not to mention our army of volunteers.I have never seen my colleagues so stressed or busy.
Things are slowly grinding to a halt again but there’s a silver lining, the vaccination.I was told today that most staff in our hospital now have the vaccine and they expect to get the last few wards and departments done over the next couple of weeks.It’s terrifying, it’s stressful but we beat the first wave and we’ll beat this wave too. #TeamNHS
Pandemic Diary 