‘We’ve been worked so hard for so long ... people are just clinging on’
Exhausted NHS staff at a Scottish hospital have urged the public to stick with coronavirus measures as they struggle with the pandemic's winter spike.
At the Royal Alex and ra Hospital in Paisley, where departmentsare colour-coded to warn of the Covid-19 risk. Nurses and doctors wear masks in green areas and additional PPE - a face shield, apron and gloves when working in red wards with infectious patients.
Staff go about their tasks with good humour, chatter and an easiness that belies the dangerous circumstances of their workplace, where catching coronavirus is a never present risk.
The news train of corona virus has seen hospital numbers rising to their highest level of the pandemic in January, taking a toll on staff already dealing with the annual winter strain on the NHS.
Dr Lucy Mccracken, a consulting geriatrician and clinical director for old people and stroke, has her desk in a Covid red ward.
"It's been really, really challenging over the last couple of weeks," she said.
"Every bed is full it feels like, and the number of admissions have gone up. But on top of that, we are all very tired at the moment because we have been working with Covid patients since March."
She said she is not worried about catching Covid-19 but fears taking it home to her husband or children.
Agnes Monaghen, a senior charge nurse, did catch the virus. She said she was lucky not to experience any symptoms, and spoke of one colleague in intensive care with coronavirus.
"It's quite hard because when you have it and you are fortunate to not be unwell, it's hard to watch other people with it," she said.
Ms Monaghenurged the public to follow coronavirus rules to avoid putting more stress on the NHS.
"You get a bit annoyed with people bending the rules to suit themselves ," she said ." and then people who don't believe [in Covid-19] - you think come and see it because it is real and and nobody is immune to it."
Tracey Millar, a senior charge nurse in the regular A&E department, agrees. She said the simple action of wearing a mask can have a "massive impact" further down the line.
To Covid-19 "sceptics", she said: "I'd say 100% this is real, this is happening, our hospitals are busy, we are trying our best to get through a very difficult situation.
"Please, please, please just try and do the right thing - simple measures make such a big impact for us."
Claire H arrow, clinical director for medicine innhs greater Glasgow and Clyde's Clyde Sector, said the hospital has been struggling with coronavirus, normal winter pressure, and patients who had put off seeking treatment earlier in the pandemic.
"Staff are stretched so thin either because of sickness absence or just sheer exhaustion,” she said. "We've just been worked so hard for so long that people are just, in a lot cases, just clinging on.
"A lot of what you can see of staff at the moment is just their eyes (above their mask) and what you can see in their eyes is stress."