Covid-19 crisis pushes Erskine mum Kirsty to the limit

Not Kirsty Martin, though. She simply hasn’t had time to weep.

The 48-year-old Erskine mum has been at the sharp end of the fight against coronavirus in her role as a charge nurse, witnessing horrors that will stay with her long after Covid-19 has been conquered.

Kirsty has worked at the Paisley hospital for more than 30 years – the vast majority of which have been spent at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) – but admits the past couple of months have been unlike any she has experienced before.

She told The Gazette: “When things were at their peak, I was so caught up in it that all I was thinking was ‘this has got to be done.’

“It’s only been in the past week or so that you look back and realise how tough it was.”

A typical shift for Kirsty involves arriving at the RAH before 7am. Over the next 12 hours or so, she has her hands full as she works out each member of staff’s duties for that day, makes sure there is enough medication and deals with patients.

There can be new admissions, while others are discharged to other wards, having come through the worst that coronavirus could throw at them.

Making and fielding phone calls are also part of the schedule, with worried relatives eager for news of how loved ones are doing.

“Every day is different but you need to be prepared for every eventually,” said Kirsty. “It’s challenging but I thrive on that kind of thing.

“I’m probably an adrenaline junkie.”

Challenging is, perhaps, something of an understatement.

Even someone with Kirsty’s vast experience of ICU duties has found the physical and emotional demands of the Covid-19 outbreak tough to handle.

Staff at the RAH’s intensive care unit have been on the coronavirus frontline

One of the most testing parts of the job has been the need to wear personal protective equipment, such as a face shield, for hours on end.

“It’s exhausting,” Kirsty admits. “You’re in here for 12-and-a-half hours a day and, although you get regular breaks, you’re still wearing the equipment for periods of three or four hours.

“Everyone looks the same and it’s also difficult to communicate with the masks on. You can’t see people’s facial expressions.”

As for the emotional demands on NHS heroes like Kirsty, it would seem you really have to be there to fully understand.

“As an ICU nurse, you need support from another ICU nurse if you’re having a bad day,” she explained.

“I remember when ICU was operating at 200 per cent capacity and you think to yourself ‘Did that really happen?’

“We’re only supposed to have seven patients but we had 15.”

That fierce focus on ‘getting the job done’ means Kirsty has had no time for tears, but some colleagues have inevitably found it harder to cope.

She said: “Staff who have been redeployed to ICU have been upset but that’s to be expected. You just have to let them cry if they need to.”

Spending so much time with patients battling Covid-19 means safety has naturally been a concern for Kirsty and her colleagues – but even more so for their loved ones.

She admits that hearing about NHS staff in other parts of the UK who have died after being infected with coronavirus has been a stark reminder of the dangers she faces.

“You feel great sadness when you find out colleagues in the nursing profession have passed away,” said Kirsty. “I guess it’s similar to how firefighters must have felt when their colleagues died on 9/11.

“I’ve always felt safe at my work. It’s more worrying for your family.

“My mum, especially, was quite concerned. I had to take a photo of myself in my PPE and send it to her so she felt reassured.”

Kirsty admits that having to wear protective equipment for hours on end is exhausting

Kirsty is also aware it has been a worrying time for her 54-year-old husband George, who works as an engraver, and the rest of her family.

She is mum to Craig, who turns 18 today, and 12-year-old Alistair, as well as step-mum to Emma, 31, and step-grandmother to 23-month-old Sophie, but admits she doesn’t often talk to her family about her work, which is understandable, given the difficult subject matter.

“The kids don’t really say too much about it,” Kirsty added. “When I go home, I try not to think about work too much.

“My husband doesn’t really understand the complexities of my job but I can chat online with one of my colleagues if I need to.”

Naturally, some of the most difficult days involve losing a patient – something that has become depressingly familiar for frontline staff such as Kirsty in recent months.

“You do feel sad but you also know you have done everything possible for that patient,” she said. “With end-of-life care, it’s very important that people are comfortable and treated with respect. They’re never on their own.

“Thankfully, some patients do recover and that gives you a boost.”

Mercifully, the pressure on the ICU team has eased in recent weeks as the number of coronavirus cases has steadily fallen.

However, with lockdown restrictions set to be eased further, Kirsty is urging people not to do anything that could increase the risk of a second wave of Covid-19.

She said: “I’ve been impressed by the way most people have stuck to the rules. Some people do still need a reality check though. They don’t seem to think it could happen to them but the truth is it can happen to anyone.

“I’d ask people to stick with it. The guidance is based on scientific evidence and the experts who come up with it are all intelligent people.

“To throw away all the good work that’s been done and end up with a second wave of the virus would be absolutely devastating.”

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