Bradford's nurses speak of toll as second coronavirus wave hits

Professor John Wright, an epidemiologist and head of the Bradford Institute for Health Research, has been sharing his insights in a special frontline diary for the BBC since the early days of the Covid-19 crisis. 

In the latest, he said doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and support staff have settled in a "weary routine" of work, sleep repeat. 

One nurse said they are "first-hand witnesses" of the devastation wrought by Covid.

Prof Wright said: "The hospital is nearly full. The patients we admit were infected a fortnight beforehand. The patients who are dying were infected a month ago - when the government's scientific advisory group, Sage, was recommending a circuit break.

"The virus has used this time to great effect. In Yorkshire, one in 37 people tested positive in the last week of October - almost three per cent of the population. This is a prevalence figure beyond our comprehension.

"The avalanche has begun at the top of the mountain and we are readying ourselves at the base for its unstoppable force. As with the first wave, it is our 2,000-strong nursing staff who will bear the biggest impact."

Moira Whiting, a staff nurse on ward 31, the main Covid ward at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, said her and colleagues are feeling the impact as the combination of Covid and winter illnesses hits. 

She said: "At the beginning, we didn't know how brutal the impact of Covid would be, and the toll it would take watching people you've got to know over a matter of days or weeks just deteriorate. We've seen the devastating impact on families - on a dad, a son, a wife - and we still talk about them as a team. We are always talking about them. We are first-hand witnesses of this devastation."

She also spoke of her admiration for her colleagues - one who held the phone for a dying man so his wife could speak to him and the "amazing and brave" student nurses who are starting their careers in a pandemic.

Kelly Bell, a registered nurse associate, knows all too well the impact of Covid-19. 

She said: "In May I had a headache, I was tired and I thought it was the stress. It wouldn't go away, and on the third day I was sat at the nurses' station and I thought I was going to pass out. I was tested for Covid twice - it was negative. It wasn't until June, when I went to Accident and Emergency, that Covid showed on the X-ray.

"I had muscle spasms, fatigue and I couldn't take a breath or move. The only place I had been was work and shopping, so I think I got it at work - we were just surrounded by Covid patients and battling through it. We'd start work at 7.30 with one set of PPE then an email would come through that it wasn't the right sort of PPE. It was changing all the time and supplies were running low."

Kelly qualified to be a registered nurse associate in June, but is not well enough to start the job.

She said: "At the moment my doctor doesn't feel I can go back to work yet. I've been going to the long Covid clinic. I'm only 33 and I was a get-up-and-go person. If you get it, it's pot luck and you could be unlucky."

Karen Dawber, chief nurse at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, spoke of the sacrifices nurses have made during the pandemic.

She lived in a flat away from home to be nearer to the hospital and because it was safer.

Now, she has a caravan in between where she lives in Lancashire and the hospital, so she can be there quicker.

She said: "I started living there weekdays after I ended up driving in at 10pm at night because we were opening a red ward (for infectious Covid patients) at very short notice. Other staff came in that night. I've nearly 2,000 nurses making those sacrifices every day.

"We have staff who have moved out to live elsewhere in order to protect relatives at home, staff who have cancelled holidays, who aren't seeing their loved ones because they're dedicated to working here and they see the urgency. But that can't go on forever. We've seen people recently coming to work in their own time on days off."

She described it as a "huge Sudoku puzzle" staffing the wards, as the hospital tries to open new red wards.

"If we are opening extra wards we have to move nurses from other areas, and it's a hard one, as people still need operations. It's upsetting for everyone. If you're waiting for an orthopaedic operation and you're in pain you can't have that done because we need to redeploy the staff," she said.

"I am fearful... we are living in uncertain times. I'm 99% of the time a very positive person and hopefully we will get through this. The problem is that it's relentless - a lot of staff haven't had any downtime. But they are amazing, keeping going day in day out. I couldn't be prouder."

Emma Barnes, a ward sister on ward 31, said "every single shift is battling for beds".

She spoke of the relentless pressure and stress and of counselling sessions starting again because of the toll it is taking on staff. 

"We are seeing much younger patients this time round. Last time the vast majority were older patients, this time most are in their 40s and we've got a lot more going on ventilators - they seem younger and sicker. But mortality is lower. We've learnt a lot and a lot of people are surviving because of what we've learnt," she said.