Student nurse Leah (20) sparks change with tweet
A TWEET by a student nurse from County Wexford spread like wildfire last week and helped to spark the change that will see all student nurses paid for their work during the Covid-19 crisis.
The tweet by Leah Byrne (20), which was posted on Monday, March 23, quickly started to be shared online through various social media platforms and got thousands of reactions in the days that followed.
The tweet read: ‘ Student nurse, 12 hour days, no pay, lost my accommodation, lost my job in a nursing home at weekends due to cross-contamination of healthcare setting issues. No income and now commuting 1.5 hours each way to help on the front line for not one cent’.
Ms Byrne, who lives in north Wexford, said that she sent the tweet out of frustration, and it was the first time she had ever felt the need to do so.
‘It was my first day back on placement in Dublin, and I had just come home from my commute. I was frustrated that I had lost my job and was worried about finances. I had never made a tweet before. I didn’t expect it to go anywhere but blew up so fast.
‘I do believe that my tweet sparked a huge change. It highlighted the conditions for many student nurses around Ireland, and there was never any mention of student nurses being paid to work during this pandemic up until Tuesday evening, which was 24 hours after my tweet was sent.
‘I never thought in a million years that my tweet would get out so far. I believe it has 46,400 likes at the moment and over 2.5 million impressions on my Twitter account alone. The tweet spread like wildfire on Facebook also. It’s the best move I ever made’.
Being heard by Health Minister Simon Harris and receiving public support across the board meant a lot to Leah during a difficult week, both physically and mentally.
‘I was surprised that the majority of people weren’t aware that student nurses were not paid. A lot of the public also thought we wouldn’t be sent back out on placement as other colleges had postponed clinical placements. The support made me feel like I wasn’t alone as many people were in the same situation. There were so many kind and generous people out there offering myself and other students in a similar situation a place to stay and wanting to donate to us students, which is really heart-warming.
‘I didn’t sleep at all Monday night because my phone never stopped buzzing. I’m so glad that I made that tweet now as it sparked a change for student nurses in less than 24 hours.
‘It has been an extremely emotionally draining week, both physically and mentally. As nurses, the safety of our patients always comes first. But this pandemic is something nobody was prepared for, and you do worry for your own health and the health of your family. I have a constant heavy feeling on my shoulders, trying to keep my patients, my family and myself safe. It’s an extremely anxious time for everybody.’
Despite the difficult work situation, Ms Byrne said that there is a great sense of unity and teamwork among her colleagues in the health service.
‘Everybody is trying their best to keep everybody safe. Even though it is an extremely difficult and upsetting time for everybody and there is a lot of tension in the air, healthcare workers always manage to lighten up the mood for their patients.
‘We are still coming on to the wards with a smile and having a laugh with our patients, it’s really important when they don’t have anybody else at this time. We have to mind our mental health at this time, it’s really important’.
Leah said that after this is all over, she will complete her course in UCD and become a qualified nurse.
‘I am so proud to be in this profession. “They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel” is a quote that sticks with me everyday while I’m working. I can’t explain how good it feels when you make a positive impact on a patient’s day. Even if it’s a cup of tea and a slice of toast at 3 a.m.’
Following on from Ms Byrne’s call to action to those in power, Wexford Fine Gael councillor Bridin Murphy said that she was contacted by several student nurse expressing concerns about paying rent, bills and transport costs during the pandemic.
Welcoming the decision by the government to pay student nurses for their mandatory placements during the Covid-19 crisis, Cllr Murphy said that she will be calling on the government to make the payment of student nurses a permanent fixture, so that they continue to be recognised and protected as HSE staff.
Nurses can sign up online by searching ‘Be On Call for Ireland’ on HSE.ie, and all student nurses and midwives will be offered a contract as a Healthcare Assistant and be paid accordingly, at a rate of €28,000.