What’s happening at your (Gauteng) hospital, how are you feeling…?
Because there are decreased numbers of patients in general wards, nurses in these wards are expected to mobilise and assist in other wards. This leaves a limited amount of nurses to care for all the patients left in these wards, which puts a lot of pressure on us.
The world is all about COVID19. But there are still patients without COVID-19 who need to be treated. As nurses, our burdens have increased. Because lockdown prohibits visitation (which I understand and support), we are now the ones to offer emotional and mental support to patients.
We, ourselves are not receiving any emotional support, it’s business as usual, but we are not dealing with usual issues.
Most of us have opted to move out of our homes to protect our families. We can’t risk going home every day when it is likely we have been exposed. Some of us haven’t seen our children since lockdown because they live in other provinces.
It is emotionally, physically and mentally exhausting.
To make matters worse, we are not kept informed; information is slow to reach us, if at all. We are not informed about the number of patients being treated and cared for who have COVID-19.
We go to work, leave depleted and end up crying ourselves to sleep. I am struggling to complete my tasks, I know the signs of burnout… and know that I am not the only one feeling it. I speak for many.
Our emotionally and psychological states need to be taken into account because we cannot care for others without that help.
I am working in a general ward and not a COVID-19 ward, so I shudder to think how whose working in COVID-19 wards are coping.