kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
While most people who contract COVID-19 survive, there are patients lying on beds with tubes stuck down their throats to transfer oxygen to their lungs at Intensive Care Units (ICU) across the parallel healthcare system.
However, according to one team lead at the Couva Hospital and Muti-Training Facility, Josette Bethel-Smith, ICU nurses are now being traumatised by the loss of their patients after fighting hard to save their lives.
In a moving story at the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 update yesterday, Bethel-Smith said people would never understand what goes on in an ICU unless they are there.
She said ICU patients range from children and the elderly who require constant monitoring, a cocktail of medication and oxygen support. And while some may look like they are recovering, their health can change without warning, resulting in doctors asking their relatives to make life-altering decisions on their behalf.
The ICU at the Couva Hospital housed 22 patients but recently increased its capacity for an additional 19.
To the relatives of their patients, Bethel-Smith said nurses empathise with the decisions they face when their loved ones are critically ill. However, she asked them to understand that nurses are doing their best. She said nurses do everything for their patients, including giving baths and feeding them.
But she said there are also times when nurses ensure that critically ill patients get their phone calls to their loved ones and unfortunately, some of those calls are their last.
“At this time, being a registered nurse in a pandemic has become extremely overwhelming. I particularly feel it for the nurses who started their careers during this pandemic. We are going to be sad. Some, if not all, are already traumatised. We have seen so much death, and we know there is going to be more.”
She said the deaths are even harder when nurses lose their colleagues, family and friends. With 1,709 people having died of COVID-19-related conditions to date, she said ICU nurses are not giving up.
Bethel-Smith said a day in the ICU is physically and emotionally exhausting for nurses. Oftentimes, she said they are unable to eat, drink or use the bathroom. They spend between six to 12 hours in personal protective gear to respond quickly to their patients.
Noting, the emotional and physical toll it is taking on she and her colleagues, Bethel-Smith said, “We, too, have families. Some of us have children at home doing online schooling, and we are not there to guide them. On our days off, we sleep and regroup to do it all over again.”
Bethel-Smith said she thinks about her patients on her days off, wondering if they would still be there when she returns.
She recalled caring for a 26-year-old patient who asked if he could video call his relative?
“Sure you can. How else would they see you? It is the only form of communication you all have right now,” she said in response to the patient, who was receiving oxygen therapy.
As she left that day, he wore a non-breather mask, alternating with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy.
“He was doing well. He was one patient that I was certain would be able to leave ICU and return to his family,” she said.
But fate would be cruel, as his condition worsened. Doctors had to intubate him for mechanical ventilation and a few days later, he died.
“I felt that because I told him to talk to them (family) all you want because not many people get to do that.”
While the North Central Regional Health Authority provides mental health assistance for staff, Bethel-Smith said nurses were tired, and it feels like there is no end to the traumatic pandemic. She said they would appreciate it if people took the COVID-19 vaccines so their workload could decrease a bit.
“To my sweet T&T, there is no cure for COVID, and we are exhausted. We need you to take personal responsibility. You do not want to end up in the ICU. COVID-19 is heart-wrenching, and it is destroying families. I urge you to protect yourself, protect your family, protect your community and let us end this pandemic for good. Do not delay; get vaccinated today.”
However, she says nurses are not giving up.
“To all of my colleagues, you all are amazing and never forget that. I know it is a lot, but we are strong, and we are resilient. So to you, I say thank you for your service.”
