Paramedic and Critical Care Nurse, Trent Ramsay of Woy Woy, has warned Central Coast residents to remain vigilant in maintaining social distancing despite some reports that the coronavirus curve is flattening in Australia.
Recently returned from working for eight months as a paramedic in London, Ramsay said the current situation in Australia is reminiscent of the UK a month or so, before diagnoses and deaths from the pandemic spiked.
“I returned from London on March 28 and am still in self-isolation at home,” Ramsay said.
“But I was alarmed on my return to find some people still living their lives as though it’s business as usual, when it really shouldn’t be.
“I went to work in London because I thought it would be a new and exciting challenge and an opportunity to travel while working alongside some other Aussies with whom I had trained.
“In fact, more than 50% of the paramedics in London right now are Australian.
“We were all surprised at how quickly the virus spread.
“The first COVID patient I went to was in February.
“I hadn’t been given any specific training or knowledge on how to deal with COVID patients.
“The call came down on our screen as a potential heart attack called an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), however, the symptoms were flu like.
“The patient was a 20-year-old female and I treated her as if she had a chest infection.
“We came into this pandemic blind.
“When we had our first COVID 19 questions from our patients back in January and February, many of us said: ‘Oh don’t worry about it, it’s not much different from the flu’.
“The truth is that most of us initially didn’t have an accurate understanding of COVID 19.
“As paramedics, when we attended our first COVID patients, many of us would laugh as we put on our personal protection equipment (PPE), including a ridiculous apron, mask, goggles, and gloves.
“Initially we were told to go into our patient’s homes and assess whether they had COVID symptoms before returning to the ambulance to apply our PPE.
“At the time we thought this process didn’t make sense, and in hindsight, it was dangerous.
“Now we sweat and our hearts race as we hurry to peel gloves onto our shaking hands, don our gowns, and tie our masks, hoping that our PPE doesn’t break as we rush.
“Every minute counts towards saving lives, but we must protect ourselves first.”
Ramsay said he had witnessed some tragedies as he worked in the UK.
“One person had COVID 19 even though he was young and healthy and didn’t have any symptoms.
“He had returned home from overseas and was told to isolate for 14 days but one friend came over to catch up during his isolation.
“That one friend unknowingly transmitted COVID to his family and the dad died, a tragically unnecessary death that could’ve been prevented by staying home with isolation and social distancing.
“One of my co-workers ended up in ICU and on the verge of death while others have died.
“Some of my colleagues’ family members have died from COVID-19, and my colleagues will never know if they themselves transmitted the virus to their loved ones.”
Ramsay said that a month ago, on March 17, the UK had recorded 1,950 confirmed cases and 60 deaths from the virus.
Most recent figures show 51,608 cases and 5,373 deaths.
In London alone, the number of recorded cases rose from 621 to 12,636 in that month-long period, he said.
“There may have been a dip in numbers here is Australia, but it is still going to get worse,” he said.
“My colleagues and I are crying, burnt out, and breaking down, but we are carrying on.
“We haven’t been trained in how to deal with a pandemic like this, the emotional toll is massive.
“In the UK, we were going to COVID 19 patients with inadequate protection equipment and the reality is that Australia will probably run low on resources soon too.
“Many of our frontline workers don’t just try and look after the general public but are also carers for their elderly, sick or high-risk family.
“Some of our frontline staff are near retirement and have underlying health conditions themselves.
“Many of them have kids that they’re worried about, please consider us.”
“If we can flatten the curve, not just of COVID 19, but also of influenza, we have a better chance of being able to have resources and staff available to save lives,” he said.
“Develop your community’s foundations now and support those who are struggling.
“Our frontline workers are going to feel exhausted and scared very soon.
“A potential suggestion for some homework would be a little thank you card to your local hospital, police, fire, ambulance, border force, defence or volunteer services.
“Please be a hero by supporting our frontline heroes.”
Ramsay said when his period of self-isolation was over, he would return to the Australian front line as an ICU and ED nurse, for which he is also qualified.
“I’m back home until the pandemic is over, at least,” he said.
If in need of support call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
Source:
Media release, Apr 6
Interview, Apr 7
Trent Ramsay
Reporter: Terry Collins