For a while now I have worked in the National Health Service as a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary (HRI). Since day one I have always felt a sense of pride when I don my uniform, and I relish in the responsibility that comes with the job. Over the past couple of months that level of responsibility both towards by patients and myself has escalated in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have bore witness to the frontline response from working in Accident and Emergency (A&E) and on the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU). Yes, there are a lot of acronyms…
As a quick disclaimer, I started writing this diary on the 10th May 2020, the 48th day of lockdown in Britain. Coincidentally, earlier today Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he was easing the lockdown restrictions. I regret not starting to write these entries earlier. Alongside my job within the NHS, I have also just finished my undergraduate degree in history, therefore I know the value of first-hand accounts for analysis and investigative purposes into the major events of the past. My reason for delaying the writing process is simple: over the past nine weeks I have seen horrific scenes, and for somebody of my age (21), my memories of the past months are traumatic, and I have been informed by the mental health team within A&E that these memories will follow me for the rest of my life.
This is not to belittle the experiences I have encountered during my time in the health service. Even before COVID I had witnessed unimaginable things having worked in the resuscitation (resus) area of A&E where the most serious injuries and life-threatening conditions come. In resus we work on the basis to always be ready for a cardiac arrest, and to be prepared for anything to come through the door. Even before COVID I was performing CPR on patients; I have seen patients deteriorate rapidly and held their hand as they passed; I have seen people suffer until their end and I have cared for people who have no friends or family, thus we are their only companions.