The NHS frontline heroes as Swindon marks one year since first Covid case

More than 300 people have lost their lives to the disease at the hospital while three lockdowns have brought the closures of schools, gyms, restaurants and non-essential shops being closed and people have been forced to work from home in a bid to protect the NHS.

All eyes have been on the on frontline workers, who were clapped from the doorstep on a weekly basis last spring while children drew rainbows to put proudly in their windows.

The hospital had to adapt rapidly by setting up dedicated Covid wards, expanding the intensive care unit. and redeploying staff to reduce the pressure.

ICU at GWH

Sleep clinic nurse Samantha Backway was redeployed during the first and second waves to support her colleagues working on Neptune ward, one of the Covid wards at GWH.

She has been working for the trust for 34 years, starting at Princess Margaret Hospital.

Because of her respiratory experience as a sister on the respiratory ward for around 20 years, Sam was called on the Covid ward to help cope with the increasing number of patients.

The hospital declared a ‘critical incident’ in January as it struggled to treat the high number of coronavirus patients.

Sam said: “They were struggling with the volume of patients because they need such expert care, and they were so poorly that they needed one to one nurse for some of them and they just didn’t have the volume.”

Sam looked after the seriously unwell patients, including some who had extreme breathing difficulties.

She said: “I had not worked on the ward for 12 years, so it was like throwing me into the fire. There were lots of new equipment and new procedures and policies. But the ward made me feel welcomed and they were really supportive.

“We had some really good moments with patients and obviously really upsetting times as well.”

When she first arrived on the ward, she was worried about catching Covid.

“I was worried about catching it, but I made sure that I followed the procedures on what we were told to do,” she said. “And they changed a lot, as we learn more about the virus and how it was transmitted and about the patients and the treatment.

“So, I was worried at first but during the second wave, I didn’t even think about it.”

Sam usually looks after those who stop breathing in their sleep and said dealing with severely ill patients on Neptune ward was challenging.

“They couldn’t have anyone sat next to them to hold their hand or to talk to them because of visiting restrictions,” said Sam. “And they did rely on the nurses a lot and I spent a lot of time just sitting and holding hands with patients. Towards the end the hospital did allow visitors for patients that will end of life.”

Sam Backway

She remembers a married couple who were both diagnosed with Covid.

“He was on the ward and she was on a different ward,” Sam said. “She was dying. And they decided that they wanted to get them together. So, they brought her over to him. He was on high care and I was looking after him.

“They put them together for a little while, so he could spend some time with his wife. And then obviously he went back into his room and she went back into hers. And then I sat with her until she died.

“I asked him if he wanted to come back in and he said no because he already said his goodbyes. He was just happy for me to sit and hold her hand. And that’s what I did until the son arrived, because we called him, and he got there.”

Sam said the husband was really poorly and he was not expected to survive.

“I don’t know where he got his strength from, but he did,” she said.

“He’s at home now with his family. Again, bittersweet. He lost his wife.”

For Louise Knight, one of the palliative nurses at GWH, making sure that patients receiving end-of-life care do not die alone is her priority.

She said: “Not having any visitors made it extremely difficult for patients, for relatives and for staff.

“It was challenging probably more than we ever imagined it would be.”

She has been with many patients when they died without being able to have family present.

“I guess in terms of sitting with patients, that’s kind of our gold standard,” she said. “That’s what we always strive to do. We wouldn’t want to feel that anybody is dying alone.

“We managed to sit with a lot of dying patients and offer that support to them that somebody was with them. It was also really important to families that their loved ones weren’t going to die alone.”

Louise said her love and passion for the job helped her keep going during the pandemic.

She added: “And we are a very strong team, even though it was hard for us. So, it certainly brought us even stronger together as a team and we get each other through it.”

Palliative care team at GWH

A total of 307 people have died at GWH since the pandemic began.

She said: “We do work with people dying every day but what I don’t think we ever anticipated was how quickly the condition changed and how quickly they were dying.”

She said the trust has been supporting the staff throughout the year with health and mental wellbeing.

“I think the overwhelming support we’ve got from the management team has just been amazing,” she said.

“People are tired but I feel we have been so well supported by GWH and the management team.”