July 7, 2020

Member Stories

“COVID-19 has added to those stress levels”: an aged care nurse’s story

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An aged care nurse shares her story of working in the sector through COVID-19

I work night shift in an aged care facility. There are 100 residents over three floors, with ratios of up to one staff member for 40 residents.

At this facility, we do not have laundry, kitchen or cleaning staff. Nurses and AINs are expected to do this, on top of caring for our residents. We do not have extra staff to clean, we struggle to get full staff on every shift. It was stressful in the past, but COVID-19 has added to those stress levels.

My facility is now in “lockdown”, which supposedly means no one is allowed in or out unless it is staff, doctors, or essential services. Our residents are very frightened – they see and hear all. They can’t physically see their families. Phone calls are just not the same for them.

The scariest part of it is what we don’t know. We don’t have access to face masks and gowns as we are told that this is not needed. Most of our PPE is locked away. We don’t know if we’ve come in contact with someone who has been infected with the virus, or if we are passing it on to our residents by not wearing masks.

Each shift now has to attend to “environmental cleaning” and document this on resident’s notes. This means cleaning every surface, with what we are told to use by management. We do not know if this is effective, as soap and water is recommended.

I become concerned when I find out a resident is catching a taxi to go shopping and not telling anyone. Or a resident on end of life, their families coming in, not knowing where or who they have seen.

However, there are moments (as rare as they may be) when I can sit with the residents during the night, have a chat and a cuppa to try and ease their anxiety and stress of the unknown. I would love to spend all night just being there for them whenever needed, but unfortunately, most times I am needed elsewhere.

Sometimes, I am made to feel like I am just a number, but when I see a smile or have a chat with a resident, it does make this all worth while.

I continue to hope that conditions will improve for these wonderful people that I care for. Because without them none of us would be here.

If you are experiencing issues around understaffing or access to PPE, please contact the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association. You can also find more information around PPE here. 

Christopher Patterson: our June nurse of the month

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Professor Lorna Moxham RN nominated Christopher Patterson as our June nurse of the month.

Christopher Patterson is an inspirational nurse and wears many ‘hats’! Amongst these he is the co-founder and director of an award-winning nurse-led psychosocial intervention for people with mental illness and educational program for nursing students, he is an accomplished nursing lecturer, researcher and academic, a PhD candidate who is examining a nursing topic, and a dedicated Mental Health First Aid Instructor.

However, first and foremost, Christopher is a very proud nurse. Christopher completed his nursing registration in 2004, and gained specialist qualifications in mental health during the following year.  Particularly passionate about improving the lives of people experiencing mental health issues, Christopher firmly believes that the mental health care delivered by nurses, can have a profound impact on future recovery. This is the reason that Christopher is committed to his position of co-founder and director of a social enterprise known as Recovery Camp. Recovery Camp is an accredited Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) clinical placement. Recovery Camp is a unique immersive learning experience, whereby pre-registration nursing students work closely alongside people living with mental illness over a period of five days and four nights. During this immersive work integrated learning program, students and people with mental illness participate in a range of activities, which are aimed to promote mental health, social engagement and physical activity.

Nursing prides itself on being an evidenced based profession and Christopher contributes in a large way to gathering nursing evidence. Recovery Camp now has 6 years of research data and findings have demonstrated that the ‘camp’ enhances confidence, encourages therapeutic communication and the development of relationships and improves strategies for wellness for both the pre-registration nursing students who attend and for people with lived experiences of mental illness. Christopher is undoubtedly an integral member of the Recovery Camp team. When he is not facilitating student learning and contributing to the quality of life of consumers at Recovery Camp, Christopher ensures that the-behind-scenes work is attended to. Such is its impact, 11 Australian universities send their nursing students to Recovery Camp.

In addition, Christopher has enabled visitors from the USA, Canada, Taiwan and India to attend; all of whom are now nursing research partners.  At the 2019 Australian Healthcare Excellence Awards Christopher was named Nurse of the Year pertaining to his contributions to Recovery Camp. Beyond Recovery Camp and his many other nursing hats, Christopher is a glass half full, passionate and dedicated team player.  Quite frankly – Christopher Patterson is an inspiration and positive role model and as the Nursing profession continues to go forward, especially during the year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020 – we are indeed lucky that a nurse like him is the present and the future.

NSW nurses and midwives acknowledged in Queen’s Birthday Honours

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Nurses and midwives from NSW have been among the highly esteemed Australians honoured this Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend. 

The Honours are awarded to Australian citizens who have displayed excellence, achievement or meritorious service and contributions to society.

The following nurses and midwives received Queen’s Birthday Honours:

Judith Meppem: For significant service to nursing administration and to community health

Judith Meppem was a registered nurse and midwife from 1969 to the 2000s. She served in a number of roles across the state, before becoming the NSW Chief Nurse in 1990. She also sat on the boards of the Australian Council of Chief Nurses, the Australian College of Nurses, and the NSW Commission for Children and Young People. 

Karen Kemp: For service to nursing and the community

Karen Kemp is a registered nurse and midwife based in Broken Hill. She has spent time working in both public health and aged care. She has an extensive history of volunteering for community organisations, including Scouts NSW and AFS Intercultural Programs. She was the 2015 NSW Health Volunteer of the Year. 

Leanne Neal: For service to youth and nursing

Leanne Neal is a school nurse working at St Ignatius Riverview. She had previously worked at a number of NSW public hospitals, including Royal North Shore, Royal Prince Alfred, Manly, St Vincent’s and St George Hospitals. She is a current committee member of Ignatian Children’s Holiday Camp and serves on the board of the Sony Foundation. She is also a co-editor of the National Guidelines for School Nurses. 

Elizabeth Zachulski: For service to aged care and nursing

Elizabeth Zachulski is a registered nurse working in the aged care sector. She is the current Director of Nursing of St Catherine’s Aged Care, Bathurst.

Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Association Secretary Beth Mohle also received honours “for significant service to industrial relations, to the nursing profession and to the superannuation sector”.

The Lamp is proud of these nurses and midwives for their achievement, as well as their contributions to our profession and our community.

Listening to the science is working on Covid-19. Now let’s try it on climate change

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Nurse Deanna Hayes thinks that if we can follow the science on COVID-19, we can follow the science on climate change.

All I want for Mother’s Day … is a cleaner, greener recovery plan post COVID-19.

Despite the suffering brought on by a global pandemic, the positives are that our planet has been given a little time to breathe. This is obvious with the improvement in air quality in our cities as I look up with my kids and see the stars in a clearer sky. The Morrison government has shown us in its dealings of coronavirus that it is possible to listen to the experts and listen to the science, and get results. We now have an amazing opportunity to direct our recovery to transition to a lower carbon economy and avoid some of the most dangerous and irreversible effects of climate change.

An open letter to the Minister for Aged Care

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Philippa Wright wrote this letter to Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck.

I’m writing with great concern about the lockdown at aged care facilities. I understand why this is being done, but I feel the whole process hasn’t been well thought through.

My father-in-law is in a nursing home, he’s 94, has some dementia and is deaf. He normally has his son, who’s retired, visit three times a week. His daughter visited on Sundays and would take him out for lunch.

Now he and thousands of other old people are stuck in these homes with no visitors, no stimulation and no one who loves and cares for them around them. This is appalling. The staff are run off their feet and don’t have time to do anything but basic care and now my father-in-law can’t feed himself, I seriously wonder how much food he’s actually getting.

He has a big appetite and when he was feeding himself, he was eating very well. When the staff have to feed several people, it’s a feed-them-as-quickly-as possible attitude and move on to the next one, which isn’t their fault, it’s a staffing issue.

I feel that maybe a family member could visit once a week to check on their loved one and give them some care and stimulation so they don’t deteriorate over the next six months whilst this lockdown is happening.

They could have their temperature taken and be asked some questions prior to coming in to visit. I realise that’s not a perfect solution, but it’s better than what’s happening now. Another thing that could be done is a Skype call to the family once a week so the aged person still sees their family.

My father-in-law wouldn’t understand why no one is visiting him. I am a nurse myself so I have a good understanding of all these issues and I would like to see something done about it before it’s too late. It’s cruel to deny these oldies contact with their families. Please look again at this issue.

We should have been better prepared

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Nurse Lynne Saville reckons that Australia should have been better prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic – but under-resourcing and politics got in the way.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has named 2020 the ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’. As the world faces the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, communities around the world increasingly acknowledge the commitment, knowledge and skills required, and the values and ethics integral to the role of nurses.

In Australia, nurses are well trained, dedicated and place high value on their significant work, yet many have experienced decades of relatively low salaries, high rates of work-related injuries, poor work conditions, and are frequently faced with extremely stressful and challenging situations. This is now compounded by inadequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) – essential for their important work in a pandemic.

The WHO has long warned of future pandemics, so I wonder why our governments did not effectively resource our hospitals, and particularly our nurses and healthcare workers?’