https://cpftblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/28/time-for-an-honest-conversation/
Remembering 2.2.4 – the 2 nurses, 2 healthcare assistants and 4 doctors who died in the fight against Covid-19 in the UK
Today, I remember the ones who have left us this week – selfless individuals risking their lives in the front line and their loved ones to save people and tackle this pandemic .
I am a nurse. I cry for the families they have left behind, I cry for the goodbyes that never happened, I cry for the children who will miss to see their mum or dad or grandparents. I cry for the families who cannot attend the funerals. I cry for the deep hole this silent killer is creating in our societies. The tears, the sleepless nights, the pain it is causing all of us!
Please remember to be kind, tell people you love them, hug them when you can or virtually. One of my friends wrote a post this week and she mentioned about encouraging her husband to write a will – very essential I talked about it once in my ‘Unspoken words’ blog. We don’t know what is round the corner.
No one can take the fear we have in our hearts, the anxieties we hold. The battle seems long – it is hard and difficult. I cannot help admire the dedication, bravery of all front line workers and keyworkers my colleagues, my friends. I follow many health care workers forums and Covid-19 has sparked so many conversations – caused uncertainty, trauma and the fear of the unknown.
These are extraordinary times for all of us – we are tackling a global catostrophe ‘Corona virus’ . I suppose I can’t help to keep mentioning the unavailability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the need for Covid-19 testing for NHS workers and social care sector in my blogs. PPE is absolutely vital to the protection of workers who are providing essential care. Staff working in the frontline are in fear for themselves and for their families at home. At times, in the community it is the fear of contaminating the car after a visit, we are aware this virus can stay in clothes for several hours. Some people have chosen to live in separate rooms or accommodation because of the risk of exposure to their loved ones.
We also need to keep track of the numbers of nurses and all other professionals who die helping with the pandemic and remember and acknowledge them equally. It was a bit disheartening when the UK Health minister Matt Hancock was not able to give figures of nurses and said ‘some nurses’ who had died on BBC Question time on Thursday night. Let us remember them and light candles 🕯 .
I am scared and have my own worries about my redeployment, but I will do my best while on duty. According to the mathematical modelling of COVID-19 crisis, the next 2 weeks are projected to be the ‘peak’ time (when the number of deaths get to 1000 a day). Please play your part, by observing social distancing and staying at home. I hope society will show restraint in spite of the weather forecast showing warm ☀ days ahead!
The latest neuroscience research suggests that American scientists are getting closer to reading minds and have developed Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can turn brain activity into text. How I wish it was there to read our minds 🧠 during this crisis!
Lest we forget, diversity and inclusion in health care in this time of crisis. This graph shows disparities and inequalities in the structure of the UK health care system – the National Health Service (NHS). The vast majority of people who serve on the front line are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. Interestingly, as the bands get to the senior leadership roles the BAME representation starts dropping. Recently I read Yvonne Coghill’s blog on ‘Community , Colour and the Corona virus’. Yvonne is the Director of Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES). It reminded me whose ‘hands are on the deck’ and how much more needs to done to include everyone at the table and reflect diversity of the healthcare workforce – even in the discussions on the TV or who is who in the NHS Nightingale hospitals.
It is a weird time, I can’t sleep, I have trouble with insomnia at times even my sleep spray did not work last night!I kept writing this blog in the middle of the night till dawn. Thank goodness for technology – I can write my blogs and do everything on my Huawei phone 📱before clicking Publish ✅ .
We have so much to be grateful for – let us look after each other. It is important for keyworkers to talk and also look after their own – wellbeing. Leaders, please listen to the cries of the people on the front line. Be kind, We are in this together, and together we will overcome this crisis. ❤️🕯️
Not going out – Home schooling, Eating in and staying at home is the new lifestyle in the UK
It feels so strange at the moment #stayingathomesavelives! I know we are all coming to terms with what facing the Corona virus pandemic means. It is not easy and all of us have to make sacrifices and make various adjustments to the way we live. Life is no longer the same – it is very different, crazy and at times feels like we are in a movie! But, sadly it is the reality – please stay at home. My nursing colleagues, doctors, healthcare assistants, nursing associates, porters, cleaners, carers, radiographers, paramedics, administrators are working so hard and leaders in healthcare are making tough decisions to help with the crisis! I admire all key workers – the applause 👏🏾 clap for our carers and National Health Service (NHS) on Thursday 8pm said it all. I am looking forward to being back at work next week. In preparation, I have been doing my online Medical Emergency Response refresher course.
It is day 11 of self isolation in the Young household – I haven’t yet stepped out of the house apart from going into the garden. I can’t wait to hug kids and hubby next week! Apart from looking after myself so that I am fit for work. We have come to contend with kids who are adapting to home schooling. You don’t realise how much it takes to settle a child into a new routine and get their attention to do something – I give my respect to all teachers. I can only imagine how parents will feel when this all is over – not that we know anything about a timeline or exit plan. Honestly, to say the least I feel exhausted and it’s only Week 1 and a few days of kids being at home 🤔!
On a good note, we are so lucky that we are able to access free online learning resources, activities and games such as online school learning hubs, live streams with ‘PE with Joe Wicks’, Oti Mabuse Kids dance classes, story-telling, sublime experiments, BBC teach website, Sky kids TV – learning at home, Alexa etc. And of course, thank God the sun has shone in the darkest times of our lives – kids can play in the garden and engage in activities that can stimulate their senses, creativity and thinking. They even managed to do a joint science Lava experiment in the garden with their friend on video.
This week has cast a long shadow on the country: as businesses and lots of other places have been shut down and restrictions applied to minimise the spread of Corona virus. People have been encouraged to stay home by the Prime minister and key workers have also been pleading with the general public ‘We stay at work for you, please stay at home for us.
By the way get well soon Mr Johnson, our Prime minister and Mr Hancock our health minister – the country needs you.
Following my blog last week, I absolutely applaud the announcement to bring in more testing for key workers working in the front line. We need COVID-19 tests across all health care trusts and social care systems to ensure staff are safe to work, minimise spread of the virus and to know whether staff need to self isolate or not – Thank you.
We must remember times are hard for many, the pandemic has caused a devastating effect on the economy, business and lives.
It is so sad and unfortunate that a lot of businesses will be at a financial loss this year – my heart goes to everyone who is affected. As well as to a lot of families who have been separated💔 from each other during this crisis.
In these unprecedented times, I suppose the closures of McDonald’s, Nando’s, KFC, chippies, local cafes and lots of restaurants – mean that we all have to eat in and learn how to manage without going out and cook. My daughter kept reminding us on Monday that it was the last day of McDonald’s, ‘Can we go through the drive in? No, love we can’t, we are self isolating I kept reminding her. As much as we will miss all this – ‘We’ as a country have to learn new ways of surviving and getting by.
We have discussed about money and budgeting at home and thought how much we might save by not going out. Although, there is still the temptation of online shopping 🖥 or browsing for other things!
Over the years, we have been watching the ‘Back in time’ TV series with Giles Coren and it shows different eras and how people lived and now we have to stay at home and adapt. My daughter has been peeling a lot of potatoes this week – she is such a tweenager! 🤔🤭. She was on Face time with a friend the other day while peeling them – on a positive side she is gaining a new life skill.
My husband continues to bake Sourdough bread – a family tradition that started in 2011 when he bought a San Francisco sourdough starter mix for his father. At first, I used to bake but now it has become his ‘hygge’ activity to feed and care for the mix weekly!
Home-made sourdough bread batch for this week. It is almost gone because everyone is ravenous! Bread is a scarce commodity – even buying flour from supermarkets is difficult (panic buying) !
Hygge ‘well – being’ is a Danish way of living well and being happy. Meik Wiking author of The little book of Hygge describes Hygge as :’It is about being with the people we love, a feeling of home, a feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world’.
Of late, virtual interactions are increasingly getting popular as we find new ways of social interaction and connections in our living rooms for instance Zoom, House party, #togetherathome to name but a few.
I had a twitter detox for a few days last week as I self – isolated because I wanted some time away from everything. But, I reconnected so that I would know what is going on.
Our healthcare systems are struggling to cope, sacrifices have been made by medics, my fellow nurses are giving their all and even student nurses are going to be on the front line next week to care for all. There has been a lot of random acts of kindness (RAK) – despite the gloom this pandemic has brought the nation and the world together.
Every day I watch, I see and listen to news and it brings me to tears. The statistics are shocking and the numbers of COVID-19 cases are increasing daily. It is scary and the future is unknown. Here in a developed country we are struggling to deal with the disruption and our healthcare system is just about coping. But my heart bleeds for those in developing countries in Africa or war torn countries that won’t be able to cope when the virus goes out of control? Some countries lack access to medication, equipment, and hospital treatment is way beyond most people’s budgets. People often live in close proximity and poor sanitation is a major issue 🙏🏽. When you live so far away from your family, friends and the country you also call home – you worry a lot about them. At times you have sleepless nights because you know how what it is like to live in that country and the inequalities that exist.
Back here in the UK, I see a lot of media coverage on hospitals, however, there is little coverage of community or primary care services and the people who are being nursed at home or in care homes. Community or district nurses also deserve a mention and perhaps more Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will help teams on the ground to feel safe and do their job.
Ironically, when World Health Organisation (WHO) declared 2020 to be the Year of Nurse and Midwife to commemorate 200 years of the birth of Florence Nightingale – no one had anticipated the crisis we are all facing. Several NHS Nightingale hospitals are being created in different parts of the country to treat Covid-19 cases. We all have to be selfless, look out after each other and also look after our own well-being.
Be safe, stay at home and take care ❤️.
PS:Headspace is offering a free mindfulness and meditation app for NHS staff until December – why don’t you try it. https://www.headspace.com/nhs
Neema says 