Medical staff ‘are tired and fear new strains as third wave bites’
THOSE who speak for health workers say employees are shattered as the third wave of Covid bites.
‘People are tired. They’re tired of working,’ said Amanda Phelan, Trinity College Professor of Ageing and Community Nursing.
Professor Phelan said the first spread of coronavirus had prepared some for the present peak.
‘That experience was almost like a bolstering experience for the third wave because you know what it’s like, you know what it is and you know what it can do,’ she said.
‘But a fatigue has set in. People are fatigued, particularly if they are dealing with Covid environments because they have just had months of this at all levels of the system.’
Professor Phelan also acknowledged the fears workers have for the future – despite the hope offered by vaccination.
‘I would say that there is a bit of concern about new strains emerging. Currently, the commentary is that the vaccine can address these but that’s probably not always a given. It depends on what way the strains develop,’ she said.
‘In the back of everyone’s mind are questions about whether other strains emerge which might be so hybrid that the vaccine doesn’t get them.’
Unions, meanwhile, are questioning whether workers are being properly protected since it emerged that more than 5,000 health workers have been infected in recent weeks.
‘There are clearly cracks in the armour of the defence systems. The damage that that is doing is incredible,’ said Siptu health sector chief Kevin Figgis.
‘There is a question about the environment they are working in. About the suitability of the capability of the PPE they’re wearing. How are 5,000 people getting infected when the HSE is spending billions on supposedly protective equipment?’ he asked.