What the Welsh Government said...
Now we are in a position in Wales where anyone with symptoms can get a test either online, via a drive-through or in a health or care setting.
But frontline staff in Wales said there were deep concerns, particularly towards the start of the pandemic, that vulnerable people were being discharged from hospitals directly into a care homes without being tested first.
There were also initial worries about access to testing in care homes, as well as knowing when it was safe to return to work. One staff nurse said: “I unfortunately had the virus and there was no advice from my occupational health department, except that I could go back to work on day eight if better.
“I felt they and managers didn’t care if you were still unwell. They just wanted you back in work and a lot NHS workers went back before they should have.”
There have been repeated calls to offer regular and repeated testing of health and social care staff, including asymptomatic staff.
However, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the evidence is not there to justify this move.
■ Financial Implications
Dentists in particular, who carry out a mixture of NHS and private work, claim they are in real danger of financial collapse.
They are calling for urgent support to mitigate the financial impact of Covid-19 on their work.
Sandra Morris, a dental surgeon and company director from Powys, said the financial implications of the outbreak for her practice were serious.
In response to the survey, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The challenges in planning and delivering all aspects of health and care services during the Covid-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and we are incredibly grateful for all our dedicated healthcare professionals who are working
“I run a small private dental practice. Our income has dried up to a tiny fraction of what it was,” she admitted.
“We have furloughed all staff. In the last few weeks, I have started seeing the odd patient for emergency care if necessary. We have kept going by using my savings and a ‘Bounce Back’ loan.
“It is frustrating that we have to pay business rates even though we cannot run as usual. All NHS practices have their rates paid for them.”
She added that PPE was going to be a headache when the practice does reopen as FFP3 masks are hard to obtain.
“The Chief Dental Officer has imposed stricter rules than in England, which will disadvantage patients – and we may need to send them over the border for care if we can’t do it.
“The UK rules in general for dentistry are far more restrictive than other countries, eg Italy and France, regarding PPE requirements and protocols for cleaning. This means that as soon as we reopen we will start to lose money faster. I am praying that this all tirelessly to combat this terrible virus.
“Our approach has been rooted in scientific evidence with the sole objective of saving lives.
“It is good to see the interim results from this staff survey and we will be interested to see the full report once the survey closes after the summer recess.”
comes to an end before I run out of money but we can’t stay closed forever. Patients still need care.”
She has urged the Welsh Government to extend the business rates holiday to healthcare businesses.
■ The Impact of Redeploying Staff In March, the Welsh Government made the decision to postpone all non-urgent NHS work and redeploy staff to the frontline to treat the expected surge of Covid patients.
But now clinicians warn of a huge backlog of routine cases which could take years to revert back to pre-Covid levels.
One radiographer said: “Covid has made many ‘non-urgent’ scans and examinations breach their waiting times, and therefore we are experiencing and will continue to have very long waiting lists for these examinations.
“The delayed impact Covid will have on these patients is almost more worrying for the NHS to deal with (and afford) in the long run.”
An NHS nurse added that there have been “huge” changes department.
“I work in minor injuries – this has been moved to a different hospital under the guise of Covid – unsure if it’ll be returned.
“Specialist staff were relocated to work in areas of unit where they have no training or experience.
“Injuries that used to be urgent referrals are suddenly acceptable to manage conservatively – this is completely against the grain.” within their
■ Mental Health
Lockdown has had serious consequences for some people’s mental health, most notably those who were forced to shield or live alone.
Health and care staff have certainly not been immune to these problems.
One staff nurse said: “Emotionally, I have on many occasions gone home feeling completely destroyed, with noone to hug me and tell me it will be okay as my partner lives in a separate house.
“The anxiety and stress at times were unbearable, particularly at the start.”
Another health professional said they have witnessed an increase in suicides, as well as alcohol and drug dependence. “Patients who are depressed are now unmotivated and desperately struggling with isolation and increased depression,” they said.
“Patients with dementia, struggling to understand and remember why they are not able to have visitors, are becoming increasingly distressed.
“Staff come in all spectrums from the highly stressed and very scared to the blasé.”