Hi Jo,

Are you a member of a trade union? It sounds as if you should talk to your union rep and get left in your current role.

Everybody is expected to step up to the plate at present, but not when you already have health problems. Nobody needs to know why you haven't been redeployed.

You are lucky to have got back to work at all. Just stick to what you know and can manage. There is still a need for some routine nursing too.

Please let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi heard today will be going to no intervention covid+. In other words end of life. No resus etc. Theyve converted the gynae ward which is my old stomping ground. Have referred myself to occ health as no one else asked. Been told by matron will do a risk assessment on ward. Waiting to contact union.

Thanks for asking

Jo

Hi Jo,

I am glad that you have referred yourself to occupational health and hope that they can help. You've always got your union to fall back on.

Don't forget to let us know how you get on.
kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hello

Just wondering...you say you're worried about going to the virus ward out of concern of the effects on pain and using your left side. But don't you have those same concerns now, as you are in a nursing role already? (I.E why would the coronavirus ward make these worse than you are already enduring now in your current role?) 

If you can't convince OH of this, and you're not deemed a vulnerable category, you'll be expected to attend work on the virus ward (there wouldn't be anything a union could do other than to cause some disruption).
 

Convincing OH that the coronavirus ward would be detrimental to your health because of previous cancer treatment (I am assigning it to this as you are) is key here....but not sure how you could if the covid ward role wasn't substantially different to the role you're doing now and you're not deemed vulnerable. Sadly, many employees and your colleagues are also in the same boat (on the front line of virus and not wanting to do it out of fear....but we have to get stuck in anyway). 
 

I do hope you can convince them though.....

I'm not ward based.. I'm a very niche speciality. Yes patient facing but not worked wards for 4 years. No issues in current role. No drug rounds. No manual handling. Monday to Friday 9 to 5. Hence why I did extra training to get out of wards. Covid and PPE a different issue. Vulnerable adult at home a different issue. I already know I will he moving to staff accomodation and not coming home to protect them. So thinking of myself also aside am already going to be away frommy family for many weeks, probably months . Thanks for your passive aggressive "comment"

Thank you.

I am not looking to be a hero in this. I will look after myself and no issues with where I'm being asked to go just dont want to cause lymphedema or stress.

Jo

Hi Jo,

Sorry, no knight on a white charger syndrome was implied or inferred. As a cancer patient and former NHS employee, I understand the peer pressure and self-imposed pressures we all face.

We just need to do what's best for our families, ourselves and the patients. This isn't a war, it is just another epidemic. It just happens to be the first since the advent of 24 hour news coverage, social media and austerity. 

Best wishes

Dave 

Thank you Dave,

I took no offence to your post. Sorry had a day of defending myself and feeling like I need to justify myself. Keep being told it's  unprecedented and we all have to step up, get stuck in and all the other cliches is beginning to grate. Managers thinking that raising their voice and screeching their opinion over mine and other staffs concerns makes their opinion valid. Telling the public that there is no evidence that them wearing masks when out stops the spread then giving us the same masks for direct contact is worrying. I chose and did further training to become a nurse specialist in my chosen field for a reason, I already make a difference to my current patients quality of life. 

Rant not over but I'll stop now

BW

Jo

Not my style to be passive aggressive. I was asking for clarification and sharing my thoughts. Your union rep will likely do the same, when you speak to him or her, if they're switched on. 

The (current) guidelines state that you are not deemed a vulnerable category yourself if you have a vulnerable adult at home. Many people are choosing to live away from their vulnerable loved ones (did you read about the paramedic who is living out of his camper van?) It's tough on the front line of COVID-19, hence why NHS workers deserved that huge round of applause last night. Being away from family is horrendous....but that doesn't mean you shouldn't work the COVID-19 ward (as that'll likely apply to many of your other colleagues....many will also have to leave their loved ones behind for several weeks and months). 

If you don't have a good enough reason to not work it, then my thoughts are - as a nurse - you should, as your colleagues are. Don't mean to come across as confrontational...but 1000s and 1000s of health workers are getting stuck in without question. I see this every day. Nobody particularly wants to be on the front line of coronavirus but, as nurses...you go where you are needed to preserve life. 

What could support you not working on the COVID ward would be if you could evidence via OH (who may also apply to your GP for info) that the COVID ward would be detrimental to your health as a result of an underlying condition/disability. That would be a good place to start....but there are a number of other considerations as well, some of which will work in your favour, from what you've described (which I'm sure your rep will be all over).
 

What may trip you up is the fact that, if you do have an underlying health condition that could prevent you from being able to perform your duties at full capacity on the COVID ward, there would be an obligation on your employer to consider adjustments, meaning that they could get you working on the COVID ward anyway, without you having to do any tasks (such as manual handling) which could aggravate your condition. They could also arrange for you to attend training on PPE and put some measures in place to assist you during drug rounds. 

So - short story - even if OH did support you having an underlying condition, they may just suggest measures to support you to work on the COVID ward. 
 

As a nurse....considering the values that should underpin that role....it's a case of taking the rough with the smooth. Nurses can't pick and choose only the cushty jobs - they have to go where they're needed (and that is on the frontline of coronavirus right now). 
 

PS concerning how you see those things as a "cliche"...believe me...this virus really isn't one to be messed with. These are unprecedented times and we really do need people to step up and get stuck in. 

Hope it all works out.