Exhausted NHS worker: ‘I just want to give it up’
AN NHS worker from Derbyshire has said the Covid crisis has left him feeling exhausted and wanting to give up.
Matt Tacey, a psychiatric nurse, admitted the pandemic has been a challenging experience for everyone on the front line.
He said having so many long, busy shifts was proving a mental challenge for many staff across the health service. The 30-year-old posted a video on social media talking about the tough conditions NHS staff are facing.
He said: “I posted the video to show people how I’m feeling and to show my colleagues that they’re not alone. I’ve got constant anxiety, I haven’t been sleeping because it’s been that stressful.
“I thought that if I’m feeling this way, I can only imagine what staff on the ICU [intensive care] and Covid wards are feeling.”
Matt argued the situation has become worse during the second wave. While the Government showed significant support to key workers during the first lockdown, he claimed a lot of that support has now disappeared.
With many workers across the health service having to isolate, he said the Government has failed to bring in enough staff to help out on the front line. This has left the NHS understaffed and overworked, said Matt, who works in Chesterfield.
“When the first wave hit, the Government gave the feeling that we were all in it together. Now I don’t feel like they value us whatsoever.
“Sometimes it feels like we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. We’re being asked to provide effective healthcare without the staff to do it.
“Some people on the ICU ward have had to double their workload. I can see they’re not eating properly and they’re really anxious. My local trust has been fantastic by offering support but it doesn’t feel like that’s reciprocated by the Government.”
Even the public have become less supportive, Matt claimed.
Although his social media post gained more than 100,000 impressions and triggered a flood of positive messages, there were a few that were far less sympathetic.
Matt said: “Some people commented to say we knew what we signed up for and that we should just get on with it. It feels like they’re in a
race to the bottom in a lot of ways.
“I appreciate that I have a job but our health is just as important as anyone else’s. I’m not asking people to go outside and clap for us again but sometimes people forget that we’re humans with feelings and emotions. We’re not immune to feeling hopeless or scared, and a lot of us are exactly that, especially with a difficult winter approaching.”
Matt is now asking the Government to do more to help out those on the frontline.
He is a vocal figure in the # movement, which is pushing the Government to give a 15% pay rise to staff across the NHS. Providing higher salaries and recruiting more workers is the only way to properly tackle the crisis, he claims.
Matt said: “Without these measures, I just don’t see how the NHS is going to attract and retain staff. Showing greater appreciation of key workers will help them to feel more secure, which will put them in a better position to protect patients.
“It’s an industry with a lot of sacrifices. I haven’t seen my mum all year so I can protect her, and we’ve lost a lot of our salary in real terms over the last five years.
“I just want the Government to recognise the work of NHS staff a bit more.”
The Department for Health and Social Care has said it is providing health sector staff with pay rises and appreciates the efforts of all key workers.
A spokesperson said: “We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our frontline staff, particularly during the pandemic.
“NHS staff, including nurses, are benefitting from the final year of a three-year pay deal, agreed with trade unions, which has delivered year-on-year pay increases for over one million NHS workers, and we will continue to be guided by the independent pay review body.”
I’m not asking people to go outside and clap for us again but sometimes people forget that we’re humans with feelings and emotions. Matt Tacey