Intensive care matron says PTSD is starting to ‘set in’ for NHS staff left ‘absolutely exhausted’ by the coronavirus crisis
- Sinead Hanton, North London, says staff are going ‘above and beyond’ in ICU
- Mother-of-one says she’s ‘already seen a lot of stress’ and PTSD will soon set in
- Says ICU staff usually nursing one patient looking after three ‘very sick’ people
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
An intensive care matron has said that post-traumatic stress will ‘start setting in’ for ‘absolutely exhausted’ NHS staff during the coronavirus crisis, while some are already suffering.
Sinead Hanton, from North London, appeared on Good Morning Britain today from the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, where she told that her staff are ‘absolutely exhausted’ and going ‘above and beyond’ to cope with the influx of patients.
She said that her team are all working extra hours, with ICU nurses who would usually be looking after one person forced to nurse ‘three very sick patients’, and that she’s already seen ‘a lot of stress’ from the increased workload.
Intensive care matron Sinead Hanton (pictured) , from North London, has said that post-traumatic stress will ‘start setting in’ with ‘absolutely exhausted’ NHS staff during the coronavirus crisis
She appeared on Good Morning Britain today from the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead where she told that her staff are ‘absolutely exhausted’
‘Our staff are absolutely exhausted. They’re working above and beyond everybody is doing extra hours,’ she said.
‘Usually intensive care is one-to-one nursing, we have one nurse looking after three very sick patients with help, so the challenges are enormous.
‘I’ve seen a lot of stress, PTSD is going to start setting in with our staff, we’re seeing that now. We do a lot of wellbeing work supporting our staff and we need to refocus on that now.’
The ICU nurse told that the hospital is already preparing for a second wave of the coronavirus, and urged the public to abide by government rules.
She told Dr Hilary Jones (pictured) her team are all working extra hours, with ICU nurses who would usually be looking after one person forced to nurse ‘three very sick patients’
She told host Lorraine Kelly (pictured) that she’s already seen ‘a lot of stress’ from the increased workload
‘Stay at home if you can, only go out if necessary, work from home if you can, we do not want to see another peak, even though we’re preparing for it.
‘You can see what the staff and patients have been through and the relatives. We don’t want to see another peak, but if people don’t abide by the rules we will see another peak’.
The mother-of-one told how she’s been unable to see her four-year-old son, but insisted that it’s vital we ‘all make sacrifices’.
‘Like all our staff working in hospitals across the NHS, we’re faced with challenges at work,’ said Sinead.
‘But then not seeing our families, I haven’t properly seen my four-year-old in six or seven weeks. But we’ve all had to make sacrifices to make sure our patients are safe’.
The mother-of-one told how she’s been unable to see her four-year-old son, but insisted that it’s vital we ‘all make sacrifices’
The intensive care nurse appeared on BBC2 documentary ‘Hospital Special: Fighting Covid-19’ last night, and hopes that the film will help the public to understand the importance of social distancing.
She said: ‘The message we need the public to realise is we’re still in the middle of a public health crisis, social distancing is vital.
‘We’re already preparing for a second wave. In the evening when I drive home from work and see people in the park in groups, it’s upsetting. You see in the documentary how busy we are and how hard we’re working to keep our patients safe
‘Hopefully last night and tonight again will get across how busy we’ve been over the last seven weeks.
‘The staff have worked incredibly hard, the team are under huge pressure but they’ve come out the other side and they’ve done a brilliant job.’
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