Page 10 - QARANC Vol 19 No 2 2021

8 The Gazette QARANC Association
COVID-19 Pandemic – using operational experience in the Ebola crisis to train staff
The words COVID-19 resonate with each individual globally, no matter the personal experience or contribution. The pandemic has engulfed all of our lives over the past 18 months; cancelled holidays, multiple lockdowns and a lack of toilet paper on the shelves of supermarkets that has made us miss Brexit. Furloughed, front line, small business owner or none of
operational experiences to reiterate the importance of the Public Health England PPE guidance, advice on how to stay healthy in PPE, and using lived experience and a sense of humour, reduced staff anxieties relating to COVID-19. The presentation was delivered face-to-face and via video link to over 500 members of
the above, the challenges faced by all over the last 18 months are sure to live in the memories of all for years to come. The experiences I and the team had within a busy Critical Care Unit were not dissimilar from NHS hospitals across the country.
The teamwork and camaraderie never faltered,
staff and the response was extremely positive. Staff routes in and out of the unit were established to ensure maximum safety of staff throughout.
Why was the training required?
• Staff anxiety was running extremely high across the CCU and other affected areas within the trust and confidence in PPE was lacking.
• Donning and doffing technique was not streamlined enough and a basic understanding of the importance of the procedures was lacking.
• The UHNM CCU matron team were extremely receptive to using my experience in training staff and I was placed into the PDN team at the beginning of the surge to conduct training while patient numbers were relatively low.
What impact has the training had?
• Staff were all extremely receptive to the training and all elements of the correct use of PPE have improved and are running without fault. Feedback showed that the training had significantly reduced staff anxieties and improved confidence. Redeployed staff embedded back into the CCU team quickly due to the training delivered.
Safety of the CCU staff has improved with the implemented training and planning of the unit.
Sergeant Ebony Cartwright
Posted to The Royal
Centre for Defence Medicine
and working at The Royal
Stoke University Hospital, the influx of patients was immediate and intense. Staff anxieties were running extremely high across the Critical Care Unit and amongst the staff who had been assigned for redeployment to critical care. I recognised the similarities between the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and previous deployments to Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis. The difference however, was in the preparation and the time to full escalation. Everybody had to adapt to an ever-changing situation, in which learning on the job was the only option whilst COVID-19 was rapidly taking over the NHS.
With the support of the professional development and matron team, I conducted training for members of critical care that included a presentation encompassing previous
extremely proud of the ambassadors they are for their profession.
What training was undertaken?
• Planned and implemented staff routes in/routes out of COVID CCU including centralising donning and doffing stations to ensure procedures were streamlined and safe. Embedded within the UHNM Critical Care PDN team to conduct training for CCU, PICU, theatre, redeployed staff and all exposed AHPs in correct donning and doffing training, mask fit training, ventilator training, closed suction and critical care observation charts training.
with every
member of staff The teamwork and
being stretched and pushed to the limits
camaraderie never faltered, with every member of staff being stretched and pushed to the limits. Healthcare professionals were asked to step up and did so without question and should be
•
•
Worked with the matron team and CCU clinical psychologist to plan interventions to improve staff wellbeing support during the pandemic.
• • •
A History of The Princess Mary’s Hospital
Royal Air Force Akrotiri 1963 – 2013 Written by Colonel David Vassallo L/RAMC
A new 120 page paperback book about the hospital’s history packed with intriguing photographs that raises funds for RAF Akrotiri Station Charities.
If you were posted to Cyprus you will enjoy the memories and delight browsing through the images, if you were born there you will cherish this unique keepsake. Buy it as a gift.
ISBN 978-0992798017
Available to buy online at www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk, Amazon and The Museum of Military Medicine
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