Nurses at Royal Glam ‘emotionally attacked’

A WELSH doctor at a hospital at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak has described how nurses have been “emotionally attacked” outside of work.

Dr Nerys Conway, consultant at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, said staff have been “victimised” by members of the public due to hospital transmission of Covid-19.

So far 195 positive cases of the virus have been linked to the hospital in Llantrisant and 56 patients have died.

Across the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, 89 cases of the virus have been identified at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend while at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil there have been 69 cases.

Speaking to BBC Wales, Dr Conway said: “I know of some awful cases where nurses have been emotionally attacked outside of work.

“There’s been some name-calling. People have been victimised and that is horrendous.

“Some of the nurses here have experienced emotional abuse on social media.

“For a lot of them they feel the finger has been pointed at them.”

Describing the situation at the Royal Glamorgan, Dr Conway told BBC Wales: “The front door is incredibly busy at the moment.

“I can’t believe how quickly the second wave has happened and how unwell the patients are.

“They seem to be sicker this time around than they were last time.

“I have witnessed the most dedicated team of nurses throughout all of the wards here.

I’m incredibly proud of them.

“They have looked after people and their families so well and

I am so, so proud of them.”

Speaking on November 3, NHS Wales chief executive Andrew Goodall said there were 192 cases of probable or definite cases of hospital transmission of coronavirus in Wales during the last week of October – equivalent to one in 40 cases reported nationally.

Dr Goodall said:

“We regret every case of hospital-acquired Covid.”