Critical care work during COVID-19: a qualitative study of staff experiences in the UK

Author:

Montgomery Catherine MORCID,Humphreys SallyORCID,McCulloch Corrienne,Docherty Annemarie B,Sturdy SteveORCID,Pattison NatalieORCID

Abstract

ObjectiveTo understand National Health Service (NHS) staff experiences of working in critical care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.DesignQualitative study using semistructured telephone interviews and rapid analysis, interpreted using Baehr’s sociological lens of ‘communities of fate’.ParticipantsForty NHS staff working in critical care, including 21 nurses, 10 doctors and advanced critical care practitioners, 4 allied health professionals, 3 operating department practitioners and 2 ward clerks. Participants were interviewed between August and October 2020; we purposefully sought the experiences of trained and experienced critical care staff and those who were redeployed.SettingFour hospitals in the UK.ResultsCOVID-19 presented staff with a situation of extreme stress, duress and social emergency, leading to a shared set of experiences which we have characterised as a community of fate. This involved not only fear and dread of working in critical care, but also a collective sense of duty and vocation. Caring for patients and families involved changes to usual ways of working, revolving around: reorganisation of space and personnel, personal protective equipment, lack of evidence for treating COVID-19, inability for families to be physically present, and the trauma of witnessing extreme patient acuity and death on a large scale. The stress and isolation of working in critical care during COVID-19 was mitigated by strong teamwork, camaraderie, pride and fulfilment.ConclusionCOVID-19 has changed working practices in critical care and profoundly affected staff physically, mentally and emotionally. Attention needs to be paid to the social and organisational conditions in which individuals work, addressing both practical resourcing and the interpersonal dynamics of critical care provision.

Funder

Wellcome Trust

Medical Research Scotland

Publisher

BMJ

Subject

General Medicine

Reference38 articles.

1. ICNARC . ICNARC report on COVID-19 in critical care: England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2020.

2. Data.gov.uk . Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK. Patients admitted to hospital 2020. Available: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare [Accessed 9 Nov 2020].

3. NAO . Investigation into how government increased the number of ventilators available to the NHS in response to COVID-19, 2020. Available: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/increasing-ventilator-capacity-in-response-to-covid-19/

4. The experiences of health-care providers during the COVID-19 crisis in China: a qualitative study;Liu;Lancet Glob Health,2020

5. Symptoms of burnout in intensive care unit specialists facing the COVID-19 outbreak;Azoulay;Ann Intensive Care,2020

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3