Everywhere in London hospitals, a unique commotion is palpable in every hallway, on every floor. Activity is intense there, as never since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. With over 80,000 dead, the UK is going through a dark period in its history. Particularly in the capital, where hospitals are on the verge of submersion. The caregivers have been working for several days in very difficult conditions.
This is the case of Ameera, an intensive care nurse. This Londoner does not want to say in which establishment she works: she fears reprisals from her management, because today, she takes the floor to say her fatigue and exhaustion, the lack of means and the difficulty of do their job properly. “It’s very scary, it’s traumatic, she recounts. I do not know where we will draw, my colleagues and I, the strength to get up in the morning to return to work, or in the evening when we do night shifts. Doctors from other departments come to help us in intensive care, but they have not been trained for this. It’s crazy.”
“We all fear many more deaths in the days and weeks to come.”
Ameera, a nurseto franceinfo
Ameera recounts her endless days, where she does not take a break for fear of dramatic consequences. So every day, before coming to work, she drinks very little, so as not to go to the bathroom all day. She has been doing this job for 10 years, she was there during the first wave of coronavirus. She has also participated in humanitarian missions in refugee camps in the Middle East. But she has never known such pressure, she says today.
Joan is a nurse in Sheffield. This union representative is angry, he is angry with the leaders who cut hospital resources and led, according to him, to this crisis. “We are humans, not heroes. We need to rest or we will make mistakes., explains the caregiver.
“It’s dangerous for patients, but not only. If you make a mistake with this disease, it can cost you your life. You take off your mask, or you don’t follow protocol. And the Covid catches you”, says Joan. Caregivers and authorities agree that the worst is yet to come, in the coming weeks.
