RELENTLESS pressures faced by nurses working throughout the pandemic is causing "mass trauma" with many senior staff quitting the profession early, a leading union has warned.
Rita Devlin, associate director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Northern Ireland, said Covid demands anticipated over coming weeks - staff have been told to cancel annual leave and redeploy to other hospitals as they prepare for a 'peak' in admissions - have further heightened anxiety among the frontline.
The trade union chief said such was the level of concern that they have drawn up a "template" letter for nurses forced to move to jobs beyond their skill set - and which places responsibility back on health trusts for any potential care failings.
"For some people, their annual leave is the only thing that will get them through the next couple of weeks. We have made it very clear to health trusts we don't support mandatory redeployment or cancelled leave. However, we do understand it is a very fine balancing act as patients need to be cared for," Ms Devlin told The Irish News.
"Legally, you are contracted with the trust. But professionally, the Nursing and Midwifery code says you must work within your sphere of competence. The concern for us is that nurses are being redeployed into areas where they’re not competent.
"What we’ve said to them is that, according to their code, they must raise and escalate their concern in writing. A nurse can’t refuse to be redeployed but what they must highlight is that they can only work within their sphere of confidence. The responsibility then is on the the trust and not the individual.
"We only made our members aware of this template last week. Nurses will do the very best they can, they are going above and beyond, but they have to be supported in all of this."
With the north already 3,000 nurses short before the Covid-19 outbreak, chronic staff shortages have been further exacerbated by those testing positive and others forced to self-isolate.
Ms Devlin said that while the impact of sick leave - both Covid and non-Covid - was a problem, an ever bigger concern was the long-term consequences of the crisis.
"The International Council of Nurses - the body representing more than 130 countries - last week said Covid-19 was causing 'mass trauma' among the world's nurses, with confirmed deaths exceeding 2,200," she added.
"Many are experiencing psychological distress in the face of ever increasing workloads. Adding to the trauma are the protests by anti-vaxxers.
"In Northern Ireland the abuse is mainly on social media, but I know in hospitals in England Covid deniers are protesting outside hospitals."
The experienced nurse said the sustained nature of the work in hospitals and the community over the past year was even worse, in some cases, for those who had worked during the Troubles.
"It's the ongoing, relentless pressure. In the past, during the Troubles for example, we would have had periods where it was really bad for short periods of time. Anybody can manage an emergency situation for a short period of time," she added.
"The modelling is showing the next couple of weeks are going to be worse. I suppose it's that idea there's no respite from it. Our nurses would say even on their days off, they can’t relax. They're worrying about going back to work, they’re worrying about colleagues they’ve left because they’re short staffed.
"There is huge anxiety about the whole idea of dealing with patients who are dying and who are without their families.
"Nurses are the people having to relay last messages and phone calls. I am very worried about the short-term and getting through but I am extremely concerned about the long-term effects on individual nurses as well as the health service. I’ve heard so many of my colleagues who maybe have another five to six years of nursing in them saying they can’t cope and want to leave the profession."
