:
After our coverage of the nurses’ strike, one particular nurse contacted The Liberal with her harrowing story of just how horrendous her working conditions truly are.
During our back and forth conversation, the nurse emphatically requested that we don’t print her name or the hospital that she works in other than the fact that she works in a Dublin hospital and her details are to do with one particular night shift that happened this month.
Asked to describe her working conditions, she told us:
“I can’t put it into words how I feel about my job anymore. I used to love it, I was a born-nurse, but now I’m just no longer sure. I know some many girls that I was in college with who are now forced to live and work abroad. I see them on Facebook in Australia, London, Canada, all of them ‘enjoying’ their new life but secretly yearning to be at home with their families and friends where they belong”.
“I read your article and feel that Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris simply don’t care about me, my work colleagues and the awful workload we’re presented with every day because of their lack of care”.
“Last night was my night shift. I was meant to be working with two other girls minding 26 patients in total but one of the girls called in sick so that left two of us to mind nearly 15 patients each while an agency nurse was on her way. During the handover, I was introduced to 4 new patients, 2 of whom had just come back from theatre. We started our rounds at 8:40pm, there was that many patients that we needed a full-time carer who was dedicated to one patient to help us do the obs. By the time I got to the last patient, it was 11:10pm.”
“I had about 7 patients who were practically uncontrollable all night, they were screaming, trying to get out of bed, trying to pull their monitors off, pulling down their drips, shouting at other patients, it went on and on. I had another back from theatre who needed their catheter regularly emptied, another nauseous all night needing the young GP to dash up from A&E to prescribe something.”
“I understand how people say that you chose your job, you weren’t forced to do it but they don’t realise the awful conditions we are left to deal with in the job we chose to do because we love it, we want to care and help people but it’s becoming impossible. I had my first and only toilet break at 3:10am this morning where I could feel tears in my eyes in the cubicle over the sheer exhaustion, frustration and lack of help I was left to deal with. By 5am this morning, I had no literally break, no time to myself, just constant roars of ‘nurse, nurse, nurse’. We each took a 15 minute tea break where my mind was so boggled that I could barely take two spoons of my cold pasta.”
“It’s not about pay increases, it’s about pay restoration. It’s not about better conditions, it’s about ANY conditions because at the moment there are none! It’s like working in hell and if this strike doesn’t change anything then I’ll be the next girl on Facebook chatting from Australia to her friends back home”.
“I want people to share my story, I want the public to know the truth, I want Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris to know the truth. We’re not demanding anything, we’re just like all our patients, we just need a little help and care from those who can provide it, please!”