KAWARTHA LAKES-This is the second instalment in our series covering first-hand accounts of life on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we feature two local Advanced Care Paramedics.
Fran Scott
Advanced Care Paramedic
23 years experience
When this pandemic began, we knew it would be a while before we saw light at the end of the tunnel, but none of us could foresee the duration or intensity this global pandemic has brought to frontline paramedicine.
Weekly and daily updates to our personal protective equipment and medical directives have impacted what we can and cannot do for our patients. These changes have definitely increased our cognitive load. Another simple, yet exponential change that we have noticed is the average time to clean our ambulances and equipment.
Another change, a positive one, is that we recently began the Special Project Palliative Care Medical Directive. We are grateful that we will now be able to support the needs of this unique population of patients in their homes. Taking this on highlights our resiliency as Paramedics and shows how our profession is growing to meet the needs of the community.
The intermittent closures of gyms, yoga studios and fitness classes have compromised our ability to decompress and keep fit which has impacted our mental wellness and physical endurance. Our sleep patterns are difficult to manage under normal circumstances with shift work, but for some, having their children home during the day participating in online learning, when we would otherwise be sleeping, are finding it very difficult to dig in and maintain a positive outlook. We have always known that sleep is important, but now it has been elevated to survival.
We have been reminded by our peer support team and by our management team that there are resources available to help us through this difficult time. Admitting to needing the help, when you are used to being the one who helps others, isn’t always easy to accept.
Bruce Mackay
Advanced Care Paramedic
12 years experience
In the beginning, it certainly was a stressful time but we had the ignorance of the unknown on our side. Certainly, any stress or trepidation that we felt then was mitigated by the fact that we had no idea what was to come or the duration in which we would be experiencing it. Evolving from simple personal protective equipment to enhanced measures such as a Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) has been an experience in itself.
Following best practices and science has always been a cornerstone of healthcare. Doing that during an evolving pandemic has seen us moving at lightning speed through policy changes, infection control practices, levels of PPE, rules surrounding exposure and screening.
Certainly, we can say we have been well supported by our community as a whole within Kawartha Lakes as well as one within our workplace. Training and debriefings have also been blunted by limits or restrictions on gatherings, forcing us into the Zoom world and all of the challenges that go along with that.
Adding on to these stressors is the social restrictions surrounding accompanying a patient to the hospital or visiting hours. After battling the PPE, cleaning, screening, and deciding on a treatment plan, then comes the discussion of “no you cannot come with your loved one” or “no visitors at the hospital, please call in an hour for an update”.
Telling people this information during times of a medical emergency can be gut wrenching and watching it unfold can be even worse as you see loved ones have a hug or give a kiss and hearing the “I love you” or “Don’t worry, everything will be fine” as you take their loved one away.
I cannot say it is any one thing that makes healthcare life difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic but rather an accumulation of it all. It adds up on a day in, day out basis. And to be doing it for so long – perhaps that is the real issue there which has caused endurance to fade.
Strength can be found in understanding that so many of us are experiencing it all at the same time and that whether we acknowledge it or not we really are all in it together. We see this when we move forward and muster another day of compassion and patience. We are all waiting for the day we can come out from under the shadows of COVID.
To say it is all bad is not fair and in order to survive, we have all tried to remember that. While we wait, we continue to see acts of kindness breakthrough every day and these are the things that keep all of us going.
Here is the first instalment from staff at Ross Memorial Hospital on what it has been like working through the pandemic.
Thank you to all of our first responders and health care workers for keeping us safe and healthy throughout the pandemic!