ICU staff almost doubles with fast-track training
NURSES NOW READY FOR COVID-19 FRONTLINE
A HEARTWARMING video shows how staff at a care home are spreading joy and lifting pensioners’ spirits.
In the footage, which has been viewed more than 10,000 times, they can be seen singing and dancing along as workers at Gwyddfor Residential Home in Holyhead serenade them with Dancing Queen by ABBA.
As lockdown restrictions mean the 28 residents are unable to have visits from their loved ones, the home shared the uplifting video on Facebook - which shows two ladies and a man dancing from their chairs with big smiles on their faces - for their families to see.
Owner, Glyn Williams, who runs the home with his wife, Mary, said it is one of the many things staff are doing to keep residents upbeat during the coronavirus crisis.
A 170-STRONG team of nursing staff has been trained up to work in critical care during the coronavirus crisis.
The reinforcements have completed a fast-track course supported by Bangor University’s School of Health Sciences, almost doubling the numbers available to work in the region’s intensive care units (ICUs).
They are now ready to work on the frontline in the units at North Wales’ three main hospitals.
Health Sciences lecturer and experienced critical care nurse Naomi Jenkins, who played a key role in setting up the three-day course, said she had “huge respect” for the nurses who stepped up for the training.
She said: “It was very full-on, but we put day one, the theory day of the course, together in just 80 hours with colleagues from Glyndwr University in Wrexham, and days two and three were arranged by our colleagues in the health board.
“Patients in ICU are so critically ill and
He said they have been getting lots of use out of the 52” touch screen tablet/ TV which they’ve been using to do karaoke and play games.
Mr Williams said: “The residents are all in good spirits thanks to our fantastic staff.
“Last week, I was working away at my computer when I could hear them all singing along to ABBA on karaoke. It really cheered everyone up. We’ve always got something crazy going on here.
“A few months ago, we held a racing event where we streamed horse racing videos from an app.
“The residents then placed their bets using chocolate coins, we’re still finding them everywhere now.”
Glyn added: “We’ve also held a few birthday parties on Zoom which have gone down really well with families things can change very quickly, so if you’re not used to it, it can be very frightening.
“It’s your responsibility – someone’s life is in your hands and that’s huge.”
She added: “There’s a lot of equipment to get used to and a lot of drugs and you have to be able to get up to speed very quickly when you’re in there, so I’ve got huge respect for the staff who have stepped forward.
“Some of them felt they should come back because they’ve worked in ICU before and some have just wanted to do it. I always loved it and wouldn’t want to work in any other branch of nursing.”
The course was set up in response to an appeal from the chief executive of NHS Wales, Dr Andrew Goodall, for extra personnel to be trained to support ICUs across Wales.
The volunteers have been drawn from who have been able to join in with our celebrations.
“We even celebrated a resident’s 102nd birthday recently.
“The interactive display we have is like a huge iPad and it’s the main source of our entertainment here.
“We’ve had it for a number of years after we applied for a grant, it’s been great.”
Glyn and Mary bought the home after he retired after 25 years in the Air Force and Mary had worked in the care home sector all around the UK.
He said: ““One of the best parts of my job is when I hear residents say they wish they’d moved here years ago as so many are still living with loneliness and depression sometimes only seeing carers for a limited time.
“It’s nice to know that people are happy here.” staff with similar skills and expertise to the ICU including dealing with anaesthetised patients.
There was a three-week window to deliver the course and so far 170 members of staff have been trained up – while a further 20 have since volunteered – adding to the more-than 200 ICU nurses currently spread across the three hospitals.
Naomi, who has herself volunteered for the ICU teams, added: “When you look after someone critically ill in ICU, it’s one nurse to one patient and it’s not just about ventilator training but all the things that go with it.
“Teaching someone to use a ventilator isn’t straightforward, it’s about looking after the whole person while they’re attached to the ventilator. There is constant patient monitoring, therapeutic treatments, documentation, personal care, and regular patient repositioning, which requires enormous team effort.
“The new recruits are probably very apprehensive, but the staff they will be supporting are very grateful to them because they know what it’s like to be new.
“It’s not what everyone wants to do. These people are experts in their own areas, so all credit to them for supporting their ICU colleagues.”
Dr Lynne Williams, the Head of the School of Health Sciences at Bangor University, said: “This is a great example of work from staff at the School of Health Sciences supporting the NHS in different ways in response to the pandemic.
“The course Naomi and others have been involved in developing is helping to upskill and provide the required knowledge and confidence for staff usually not working in critical care areas.”