Tales from the frontline as paramedics battle Covid-19
DESPITE the fact that they are to the fore in battling a global pandemic, there was a buoyant atmosphere among staff at the Wexford Ambulance Station adjoining the hospital yesterday (Monday). While paramedics have been run off their feet in recent days, calling to homes to carry out testing for Covid-19, they seemed to remain positive as they tended to their vehicles in the Spring sunshine.
For paramedics Liam O’Neill and Anthony Breen, the days have been somewhat repetitive. At the start of each shift, they are greeted with another list of ten to twelve suspected cases of coronavirus around the county and it’s their job to turn up and test them. Although it changes with nearly every passing day, there’s a whole protocol to follow. They contact the patients and give them an estimate as to what time they’ll be with them. Once at the house, they’ll ask that the door is left ajar and that some other space, be it the hall or another room, is provided for them to set up and put on their own protective gear, which consists of surgical gowns, goggles, masks and gloves. From here, they carry out some checks on the patient before taking a swab test - something which they say is not the most pleasant process.
‘It is quite uncomfortable,’ said Anthony. ‘The swab goes right to the back of the throat and then right up the nose, meaning the patient is tearing up. The attitude is that it’s much better to get a really good swab than a false negative.’
Having taken the sample and all the patient’s information, it’s placed in not one but three sealed bags before being put in a numbered box. While the swabbing process takes less than 20 minutes, the preparations and paperwork involved means each call takes up to an hour.
At the end of each shift, the paramedics drive the samples to the lab at University Hospital Waterford and that’s the last part they play. While it may seem strange, as a result of patient confidentiality protocol, the paramedics will never know if they’ve come in contact with a positive case of coronavirus in their working day.
‘We would only get a call if there was a situation where we came into contact with a confirmed case while we weren’t gowned or wearing protective gear,’ Anthony explained. ‘Obviously, I suppose we would like to know for our own benefit if we came into contact with it, but that’s just the way it is.’
‘This is unprecedented really,’ Liam added. ‘The protocols in relation to this are changing with every passing day. Every day there’s new criteria.’
Having handed over the samples, after up to 14 hours on duty, that signifies the end of the cycle for the crew, until the start of their next shift where they will be presented with yet another list.
‘I think there was a list of around 700 people to be tested on the first week we started,’ said Liam.
‘Now there’s thousands. We just come in and get through as many in a day as we possibly can.’
While, understandably, there are a lot of anxious people out there seeking a test, every single one is accounted for and a test can only be requested by a GP or a public health nurse.
While Anthony and Liam get through a lot of testing in a day, there are occasions where they will be forced to call for the backup of an ambulance. If a patient is displaying heightened symptoms or is not suitable for home testing for example. Between them, they had only encountered a couple of instances of this though. Liam pointed out that patients over the age of 65 are not being brought to hospital currently and are rather being told to say at home and self-isolate.
Despite the heavy workloads and the gravity of the situation they’re facing into on daily basis, the pair seem to be remaining positive. They try not to worry too much about putting themselves in contact with the virus and rather focus on each patient as they come.
‘I suppose there always is that thought in the back of your mind about it,’ Liam reflected. ‘I suppose I’m in the position that I’ve no children at home to worry about.’
‘My youngest is 16,’ Anthony added. ‘But I do have nieces and nephews that obviously we’ve no contact with now at this stage. I suppose we are on the frontline of this thing, but in some ways what we’re doing is a safer place to be than on a normal ambulance. We’re going into people’s houses and we’re gowned up and ready to go. On the ambulance, you could be going to a regular call, but you’d never know if that person you’re dealing with is carrying the virus.’
With images circulating online over the weekend of crowded beaches and parks, busy shops and people closely bunched in queues, it’s something that’s a cause of great frustration for the lads at the station and the staff inside in the hospital.
‘I was coming back from Enniscorthy last night and there was a huge crowd of lads with cars gathered on the promenade there,’ Liam said. ‘It is frustrating for us to see people carrying on like that as if nothing is happening.’
‘I suppose a lot of these people aren’t in work at the moment and the weather has been a bit nicer in recent days,’ Anthony added.
‘A lot of the time we’re talking about younger people here and they don’t seem to realise the dangers. They think they’re young and it’ll have no impact on them, but they’re going to end up going home to parents and grandparents and bringing it with them. Having said that though, you’d notice that the roads are a lot quieter at the moment.’
While things are set to get a lot busier for the likes of Liam and Anthony in the coming weeks, they have been humbled by the support they are receiving on a daily basis from the people of Wexford. A number of local businesses are providing front-line staff with free coffee and food, while members of the public have also been dropping items into the ambulance stations and hospitals as a token of their appreciation.
‘The generosity we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks has been really lovely,’ said Anthony.
‘There’s a lot of positive stuff and support on social media for front-line staff with things like “not all heroes wear capes” being shared around. Obviously, we don’t do this for the recognition, but it’s really nice to see the work we’re doing being recognised and the good will out there for us has been absolutely fantastic so far.’
While staff like Liam and Anthony and all of the front-line staff at Wexford General are doing as much as they can, we all have our own part to play. Staying at home for a week or two and avoiding all unnecessary contact with others could be the difference between them being able to keep up with the demands of Covid-19, or ending up completely overwhelmed.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S COMPLETELY UNPRECEDENTED REALLY. THE PROTOCOLS IN RELATION TO THIS ARE CHANGING ALL THE TIME. EVERY DAY THERE’S NEW CRITERIA.