Day 30
Every day now, one or more staff members return after a long absence, to great jubilation. It seems there’s some (good-natured) friction on the floors, as returning workers compete with the new PABs/helpers for the affection of “their” residents.
As the number of workers multiplies, so do the stories of the conditions here in the weeks before we, the reinforcements, arrived. Several orderlies tell me they knew early on that something was wrong; their residents were deteriorating before their eyes. They had already been battling a flu outbreak, but this was different. Staff began to push for testing, and to start wearing masks, but were told the risk was low and this would only alarm people. At one point, PPE was locked up in a storeroom.
When the first round of testing finally took place, the health board was shocked by the number of positive results. The staff were not. By the time the virus had run its course, nearly 30 staff members were off sick, and a similar number of residents had died.
“What are we even doing back here?” It’s a lighthearted but serious question they ask each other. But in the same breath they answer it: this is their family, and they couldn’t stay away.
I wasn’t here to witness any of this, and I can’t judge, only listen. But I do hope that at some point when all this is over, someone will do more than listen.
Day 31
As the number of workers multiplies, so do the stories of the conditions here in the weeks before we, the reinforcements, arrived. Several orderlies tell me they knew early on that something was wrong; their residents were deteriorating before their eyes. They had already been battling a flu outbreak, but this was different. Staff began to push for testing, and to start wearing masks, but were told the risk was low and this would only alarm people. At one point, PPE was locked up in a storeroom.
When the first round of testing finally took place, the health board was shocked by the number of positive results. The staff were not. By the time the virus had run its course, nearly 30 staff members were off sick, and a similar number of residents had died.
“What are we even doing back here?” It’s a lighthearted but serious question they ask each other. But in the same breath they answer it: this is their family, and they couldn’t stay away.
I wasn’t here to witness any of this, and I can’t judge, only listen. But I do hope that at some point when all this is over, someone will do more than listen.
Day 31
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