Forgotten 'heroes': frontline nurses' experiences of the Covid-19 crisis

Abstract

In recent months, it has been almost impossible to socialise with family members, friends and work colleagues. Telephone conversations and online chats have been the only ways to stay in touch and share our experiences of surviving the pandemic, as well as of being nurses on the Covid-19 ‘frontline’ caring for extremely ill patients. In telling our stories to each other, it became clear that most frontline staff are exhausted and scarred, physically and emotionally. They also feel undervalued, being ignored by the government in the recent public service pay review. One of our London-based colleagues told us (in early September 2020):

…Gradually our work has gone back to normal, we are trying to reopen the out-patient clinics that were stopped during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. We were redeployed to work on the frontline. We managed to pull ourselves, and the healthcare system, through the main part of the crisis, but now staff members are incredibly tired: just exhausted. Sickness absenteeism levels on the ward remain high; in fact, I have never known them to be so high in my entire working life. I manage a ward in our hospital, and I feel exhausted. After a long day shift, I come back home, and have no energy left to do anything. My husband says I am more tired now than I was during the peak of the crisis, how long can I continue like this?

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https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/publications/5c3e0074-e49d-4b3d-98f6-ebb787380e99