Covid-19: Deaths in Scotland pass 1,000 as health workers demand action
Scotland’s death toll from Covid-19 has risen dramatically this week to over 1,000. The horrific scale of fatalities underline yet again the terrible impact coronavirus is having on society and the working class in particular. And how negligent both the Westminster and Scottish governments have been in responding to the reality of the pandemic.
A quarter of the deaths are currently taking place in care homes in Scotland – an enormously exploitative area, with widespread low pay and poor working conditions, especially among the private and third sector providers.
For both care staff and NHS workers the issue of protective equipment is paramount. Over-stretched resources, under-staffing and lack of PPE is an ongoing issue.
We spoke to a NHS worker on the frontline of the Covid-19 battle in Scotland.
“I’ve worked for twelve years in the NHS as a healthcare assistant. Really enjoy my work. As the coronavirus epidemic began to break, the NHS was just not prepared. To begin with testing of staff was haphazard, if it happened at all. PPE was limited and training for staff on how to fit the PPE, for example face masks – important to ensure against infection for those not used to having to wear them – was just not available. I am face mask-trained but when I asked for training for other staff on the ward it was not available.
My ward was a 20-bed all-female unit. Two patients I was working with and who showed symptoms were eventually tested positive for Covid-19. At that time we weren’t wearing PPE and so inevitably a few days later I became ill. There is no doubt that we should have had regular testing of all staff and patients as soon as the pandemic broke. But the NHS was not ready or equipped.
My symptoms were Covid-like and so I phoned work and was told to self-isolate for a week. There was no offer of a test, important for NHS workers so at least we can know if we do or do not have the infection. The pain got worse in my chest and back area. Following government advice I called NHS 24 and they said a GP would phone back within four hours – a call that never came, showing the pressure the system is under. If they had called back I should have been offered a test.
In the end I called my own GP and he prescribed antibiotics in case it was a chest infection. They had no impact, underlining the suspicion that it was coronavirus. But I was then told by the GP that I was too late to be tested. How many NHS staff are off ill without tests? Quite a few. One of my friends who also works for the NHS has symptoms and has not been able to get tested.
While off work ill, my hospital was told to change protocols around two weeks ago and staff had to start masking up. Why was that protocol not changed earlier? It should have been done long before.
The one thing the NHS was ready for was beds. Whole wings of our major hospital have been cleared of patients and Covid only areas set-up. Routine planned operations were cancelled and cancer screening services etc postposed for three months. But the same resources were not available for PPE and especially not testing. Even now, more than six weeks into the epidemic, these are still issues for NHS staff.
Staff are struggling with anxiety and mental health issues. We’re all worried about what we are bringing home to our own families, never mind the stress of caring for patients at work. Finding boxes of face masks with stickers saying they have been tested and are useable but then peeling back the sticker to see they are four years out of date doesn’t help morale either. How can we have confidence that our health and safety is being looked after?
There are many lessons that will need to be learned from this experience. It starts from the top. There was no leadership when a rapid and clear emergency footing was required. The lack of robust emergency epidemic protocols in place, the absence of PPE and widespread testing has been shocking. People have died as a result who should not have.
Years of cuts to NHS budgets and a lack of staff have all been exposed by this experience. We can’t go back to that. NHS workers and our patients need a fully funded health service We must have the resources to ensure we can protect ourselves and those we care for. The trade unions, including my union Unison, have a vital role to play in this battle.”
We say:
