Nurses share experiences

Healthcare professionals at the isolation centres where COVID-19 patients are being treated said today they are well-equipped to deal with the disease and reported smooth operations so far.

Senior Sisters Mary Thompson and Glendora Seale told the Voice of Barbados’ Down to Brass Tacks programme today the medical teams were well-supplied with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

There two facilities in operation are the Enmore Centre which houses the more critically ill patients and the Blackman and Gollop Primary School.

Seale, who is assigned to the Enmore Centre, said: “The authorities have provided us with all the equipment recommended by the international organisations.

“We wear the HAZMAT suit, the N95 face masks, and with these masks there are specific sizes for each person so we are measured and fitted for those, and we also wear a face shield and gloves.”

She also described the procedures all workers, including the ancillary staff, go through in putting on and removing the protective gear.

Seale said: “There is a sequential way to put on the HAZMAT outfit. We work in teams of two, with one nurse monitoring the other to see it is being done properly, because the different parts have to be put on in a specific order.

“The process takes about 15 minutes or less, and then when we finish our shifts, the pieces come off in a sequential manner as well and are discarded immediately afterwards.”

Thompson confirmed that there is enough PPE to see the island’s healthcare workers through the pandemic and beyond, and noted that there was a separate section of the Accident and Emergency Department (A &E) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) to deal with any patients who may come in displaying any symptoms associated with COVID-19.

She told the programme: “The Barbados Government received a host of supplies lately from the Chinese Government and this should allay any fears Barbadians have about our not having enough equipment.

“There are systems in place in the A & E to isolate the Covid-19 patients from the general population, because, as we know, there are people with other ailments that may mimic Covid-19 that use the A & E, so we are trying to triage these patients before they go into the general section with other patients in the A & E.”

Thompson said her primary role was to offer psychological counselling to healthcare workers as well as relatives of people who may fall into the groups most susceptible to the illness.

She said: “Even before our first confirmed case, there was a whole lot of anxiety and fear among patients and nursing staff, and those who have elderly relatives at home, especially when we said older people and those with co-morbidities were at risk, so educational support was very important there.

“We must remember that people are still sick outside of COVID-19, but right now that is the first thing that comes to mind if anyone presents with a basic symptom of an illness.”

Thompson criticised social media platforms for spreading misinformation about the virus, saying they “have not always given us the needed support, because they have circulated a lot of negative reports and “fake news”, which are only creating additional stress”.

She added: “We help people to find true sources of information so we direct them to the World Health Organisation, the Ministry of Health and the other Government authorities, and ask them to step back a bit from the information overload since it is not always positive and is toxic in some ways.”

Both nurses admired the team spirit their colleagues had shown ever since being called to duty and noted that they had all volunteered to work closely with the COVID-19 patients.

Thompson said: “We are communicating using technology, in the chats we have you see the concerns we have for each other, there is also some laughter to keep us level, and that speaks to the level of commitment that has come to the fore in terms of these nurses.

“They all volunteered to take part, and this is important because it shows they came in with a commitment. Now if things start to escalate, the level of commitment can wane, so that is where the team spirit will help, and I am comfortable to say it is present in the unit.”