“Scarring for life”: Australian COVID wave puts pressure on nurses Coronavirus pandemic News

Sydney, Australia – New South Wales nurses, home to nearly a third of Australia’s 26 million population, are under increasing pressure as a COVID-19 wave fed by Omicron spreads across the state.

Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Michelle Rosentreter, a member of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWMWA), says the variant has doubled the number of ICU patients and quadrupled the number of wards.

It’s a struggle every day to give the best care to more and more people.

“If you have six [bedside call bells] You’re going to take care of eight patients at once, how are you going to do that? ” he asked.

After largely escaping the waves of COVID-19 that swept the world in 2020 and 2021, Australia is struggling. the worst occurrence of the virus. The number of cases has risen from thousands in December to more than 55,000 a day, putting pressure on the country’s public health system.

On Tuesday, Australia recorded the highest number of coronavirus deaths, as in New South Wales. He warned that the country expects more.

Even before the pandemic broke out, New South Wales, which employs more than 220 registered public hospitals and more than 90,000 registered nurses in other health facilities, experienced a severe shortage of staff. The virus has worsened the situation, nurses told Al Jazeera.

Registered nurse Michelle Cashman, NSWNMA’s Long Jetty Continuing Care Branch Delegate and NSWNMA Counselor, says some of the nurses she knows in general wards are caring for 12 patients at a time.

“Even before Covid we received this line that all nurses hated,” he recalled. “You had few employees, you would say, ‘Look, we have two fewer employees today’ … and your … senior … would say, ‘Well, you have to work better’ … and you wanted to scream.” .

Cashman has over 40 years of experience in nursing.

He says the minimum staff for a general ward in a morning shift should be one nurse for every four patients. In emergencies, there should be at least one to three, and in intensive care, one to another.

Before the Coronavirus hit, Australia relied on foreign recruitment to fill staff gaps, says Shaye Candish, the association’s acting secretary general, but that approach was also triggered by the pandemic as the government quickly moved to close the country’s borders. as well as the number of citizens who were allowed to return home.

Omicron, so much so more infectious than the previous variant of coronavirus, it is exacerbating the problems, sending nurses sick or isolated while feeding a plethora of patients.

“We’re in a situation where our members don’t want to receive more hours, they don’t want to receive more overtime,” said Candish, who led an appearance outside a Sydney hospital on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison stressed last week that the Australian healthcare system was “well equipped” to deal with Omicron.

But the rules are being revised, and the demands on medical staff are increasing so that the system can continue to function effectively.

Some nursing and anesthesia nurses are being referred to the wards, and nurses are also being called in to cover deficiencies and illnesses during their breaks.

According to the latest rules, asymptomatic health workers “may leave self-isolation in exceptional circumstances so that these essential services are not disrupted,” but if they do cause symptoms, they should take a PCR test and go home.

“You’d normally be isolated that week,” Cashman said.[But] they are so disappointed, they come back to you and do RAT (fast antigen) tests every day ”.

Physical and emotional burnout

It has had a huge impact on nurses.

Wearing full personal protective clothing (N95 masks, goggles, gown and gloves) Rosentreter says nurses often have to work all day without a break.

“It’s tiring. It is dehydrating, ”he said, adding that he drank a liter (3.5 cups) of water as soon as he got into the car the day after his shift.

Rosentreterri was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in September last year, a chronic pain, “after everything has piled up” for many years.[ing] up”.

“I couldn’t move, my body was locked,” he said. “… It’s well managed if you get a routine of sleep, diet, exercise, and all that. So, bottom line is that we’re really looking forward to working with the hospital system. “

Cashman says the toll goes beyond the physical. It’s also emotional.

Some of the things his colleagues live and work with every day have made him a “scar for life,” he said.

“When you go home, and you … I just think, ‘I couldn’t help my patients, I couldn’t do everything they deserved,’ because it’s not possible.”

An NSW Health spokesman told Al Jazeera in a statement: “There are more nurses and midwives in NSW’s public hospitals than at any other time in history.”

Between 2012 and 2021, according to the statement, the number of nursing and midwifery staff in the state increased by 23 percent, with the aim of having 5,000 more nurses and midwives in the next four years.

But on the ground, nurses say the situation in NSW hospitals has a big impact on other areas of the health care system.

Cashman says recently, unable to get immediate care from the ward nurse, some patients called a government-run REACH phone number for families and caregivers who are concerned that hospital patients are not receiving the care they need.

“It was so bad last week in one of the wards where two of the patients called REACH and said‘ We don’t get any attention ’,” he said.

Even patients in the community, pregnant women and those in nursing homes do not receive the support they need, “because there are not enough staff,” she said.

The ambulance service is also under unprecedented pressure, as paramedics are sometimes forced to queue with COVID-19 patients out of the emergency room, leaving others urgently unable to receive help, nurses said.

“This is not enough”

NSW announced 29,830 more cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. But with so few antigens and PCR tests, many are concerned that the actual numbers may be much higher.

The NSW government is focusing on an increased vaccination program to tackle the rise, boosting promoters and expanding owners of children between the ages of five and 11 last week.

NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet says the state government’s support measures will ensure that hospitals can manage Omicron’s rise. [File: Bianca de Marchi/EPA]

It has also put in place support measures for “hospitals and the community,” including the suspension of unnecessary elective surgery and the banning of activities such as singing and dancing in hospitality venues and recreation centers.

“These adjustments will allow us to continue to live with Covid and manage the pandemic in a measured and considerate manner,” NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet said in a press release.

Under harsh conditions, many nurses from the mid-to-late 50s have decided to take early retirement or pursue less stressful tasks, such as education or management, according to Candish.

But “overwork in the overall system” means that fewer young people are pursuing a nursing career.

“This is making the profession less attractive,” he said. “We see a lot of young graduates coming in and working and leaving in a short amount of time, or they don’t even finish their degree.”

To keep hospitals and health facilities running, nurses say more needs to be done to help front-line staff and alleviate the unprecedented pressure they now face.

“We have to accept that the government is completely stressed out by the system,” Candish said.

“It simply came to our notice then [nurses and midwives are] not here, there is no health system. That’s the reality. “