Sunshine2297
Member
- Messages
- 17
Morning
So it's been a strange couple of weeks. I work in an oncology day unit, so we have patients coming in and out all day as it is outpatients. Just last week we only had standard PPE, gloves and aprons. I has a risk assessment with my manager and sister in charge that Monday, the anogram of this assessment given by the trust basically flowed in such a way unless you work in directly with covid 19 confirmed patients then you are at no higher risk and carry on. I then mentioned to them that I had spoken to my GP and she told me their receptionist is type one diabetic and working with a mask, may be worth negotiating this? My manager straight away shut me down, said it isn't proven to protect you and basically said she doesn't understand why diabetics are on the risk list anyway... Ok I accepted this and carried on working during the week, speaking with my diabetes nurse she advised similar to my GP and suggested I ask for more PPE. I phone infection control who advised me to speak to occy health who then questioned why I phoned them so hit a brick wall there.
Enough was enough, I'm sorry i felt awful. Government guildines are so hit and miss what we should be doing to protect ourselves, anyone I went to for advise couldn't help or didn't seem to want to help so by the middle of the week I was starting to feel in quite a dark place. I would sit at the top of my stairs ready for work and cry, walking to my unit I have to walk past the red zone of covid wards. Mentally this whole situation is driving me mad, when I go home I scrub everything, I don't like to even hug my partner.
Anyway, by Friday I came home and thought I actually can't go on like this I'm so stressed my glucose is constantly high, I can't sleep and I have a tight chest. I phoned a union and he advised me to immediately email my manager and say I'm self isolating.
The next day the union rep was in discussion with HR and then my manager phoned me that afternoon. She gave me a few options, a couple being unpaid leave or taking annual leave and then advised that we now have fluid resistant masks. Great. I felt ok to return with the masks, see you next week I said.
I then get a phone call saying I will be working at the sister unit (trust is across two sites) as our chemo patients are now going there.
With everything on the rise, my depressive and anxious tendancies, feeling like I'm being sent pillar to post, unable to tackle my high blood glucose I feel I may just take unpaid leave. I feel like a complete coward. I feel I will let down my colleagues and the patients. But I just don't think I can carry on like this. I'm having tight chest and a tickly cough, I'm not sure if the tight chest may be related to stress or high blood glucose?
I just wanted to share my experience, my thoughts. Maybe someone else is going through a similar time? All advice, opinions welcome good or bad
So it's been a strange couple of weeks. I work in an oncology day unit, so we have patients coming in and out all day as it is outpatients. Just last week we only had standard PPE, gloves and aprons. I has a risk assessment with my manager and sister in charge that Monday, the anogram of this assessment given by the trust basically flowed in such a way unless you work in directly with covid 19 confirmed patients then you are at no higher risk and carry on. I then mentioned to them that I had spoken to my GP and she told me their receptionist is type one diabetic and working with a mask, may be worth negotiating this? My manager straight away shut me down, said it isn't proven to protect you and basically said she doesn't understand why diabetics are on the risk list anyway... Ok I accepted this and carried on working during the week, speaking with my diabetes nurse she advised similar to my GP and suggested I ask for more PPE. I phone infection control who advised me to speak to occy health who then questioned why I phoned them so hit a brick wall there.
Enough was enough, I'm sorry i felt awful. Government guildines are so hit and miss what we should be doing to protect ourselves, anyone I went to for advise couldn't help or didn't seem to want to help so by the middle of the week I was starting to feel in quite a dark place. I would sit at the top of my stairs ready for work and cry, walking to my unit I have to walk past the red zone of covid wards. Mentally this whole situation is driving me mad, when I go home I scrub everything, I don't like to even hug my partner.
Anyway, by Friday I came home and thought I actually can't go on like this I'm so stressed my glucose is constantly high, I can't sleep and I have a tight chest. I phoned a union and he advised me to immediately email my manager and say I'm self isolating.
The next day the union rep was in discussion with HR and then my manager phoned me that afternoon. She gave me a few options, a couple being unpaid leave or taking annual leave and then advised that we now have fluid resistant masks. Great. I felt ok to return with the masks, see you next week I said.
I then get a phone call saying I will be working at the sister unit (trust is across two sites) as our chemo patients are now going there.
With everything on the rise, my depressive and anxious tendancies, feeling like I'm being sent pillar to post, unable to tackle my high blood glucose I feel I may just take unpaid leave. I feel like a complete coward. I feel I will let down my colleagues and the patients. But I just don't think I can carry on like this. I'm having tight chest and a tickly cough, I'm not sure if the tight chest may be related to stress or high blood glucose?
I just wanted to share my experience, my thoughts. Maybe someone else is going through a similar time? All advice, opinions welcome good or bad