Over-worked health staff not to blame for record inpatient infections, says RCN
1 in 4 inpatients have covid at present - and the situation is forecast to worsen this week.
The public is being sharply urged not to blame nurse and other health-care staff for spreading covid, as they’re working such long hours that the Royal College of Nursing insists it couldn’t be true.
The RCN's plea comes as hospitals here are being pushed to the brink, with 1 in 4 hospital patients now being infected with covid-19, totalling a record breaking 700 covid inpatients, and hundreds of staff therefore also off and isolating.
A joint statement from the Chief Executives of Northern Ireland's Health Trusts spelled out that bleak reality last night, as the Western Trust's CEO, Dr Anne Kilgallen, warned our hospitals are now 'looking into the abyss'.
But RCN Director Pat Cullen told Downtown Cool FM News this hike in cases is not because ‘nurses were off doing their Christmas shopping’, but because of trends in the general public.
“I have many nurses telling me that they haven’t even had time to put up a Christmas tree this year, because as soon as they get home from working a 14 hour shift, their phone starts ringing immediately, asking them to come back in,” she said.
“I have evidence of nurses receiving up to 40 calls when they’re trying to get a couple of hours of sleep and those 40 calls are from managers that are really stretched, begging them to come back in to do another couple of hours.
“So any discussion that’s in the public about nurses bringing covid into our hospitals or that it’s nurses and other healthcare workers that have spread the virus is disrespectful because I don’t know how they could have done that, given they are spending the majority of their 24 hours working.”
Ms Cullen added that there is great fear and anxiety as we approach, what experts are forecasting, will be the worst week of the pandemic so far.
“There’s not a single nurse in Northern Ireland at this present moment in time that’s not feeling overworked, overtired and as they’ve described to me, feel as if they’ve lead attached to their legs when they get out of bed in the morning.
“I’ve never seen such and exhausted workforce and that exhaustion is coupled with anxiety, fear, and dread about what’s going to approach them as they start another shift in our hospitals.
“Knowing that you are approaching a spike with a very depleted workforce is horrendous for those nurses.”