Heartbeat: Sheer sense of comradery brings Rowley together

July 30, 2020

Gearing up to deal with a once-in-alifetime pandemic, Justine Irish, Matron for Primary Care, Communities and Therapy gives us an insight into how her team at Rowley responded to the rapidly evolving need to change working practices to maintain services while keeping patients safe.

She told us: “The first task was preparing the team for what was to come. For example, it sounds simple on paper designating hot wards for positive patients and cold wards for those not suspected of having the virus. We quickly realised the reality of some patients on blue wards exhibiting no symptoms but on testing coming back positive. When you prepare colleagues for working in a low-risk area, they cannot guarantee it will remain that way so it has been difficult. The Rowley team is really special; they are a resilient group who work as a family. The overall mood at Rowley has always been one of we are in it together so let’s get on with it.”

When the pandemic hit, the model of beds on Rowley wards changed, to create a mixed model of medically fit and intermediate care beds all together. Colleagues stepped up to cover other areas, away from where they were most familiar with. However, with lockdown, this inevitably changed, as most services out of Rowley were relocated or changed as opposed to stopped.

Justine continued: “For me, my working week has changed. This is also true of many members of our directorate who have changed their working patterns too. Alongside my colleague Natalie Whitton, we have been cross covering all of our community wards and providing a seven-day matron cover between the two of us. We also introduced an out-of-hours matron – Pal Grewal – who has been providing support during twilight shifts, which has also had a positive impact.

“Over the last three months, what has stood out for me has been the sheer sense of comradery across some 200 plus colleagues, seeing them assist each other with face masks, bring in food for each other, shop for each other and generally care more for each other.

“If I had to call out one team, it would be our domestic colleagues, as although we have a smaller team at Rowley they make a huge impact. They have turned wards around that have been closed for years, and have deep cleaned to within an inch of their lives. They come in early and go home late, and clean every touchpoint so meticulously and I am sure they are a huge part of the reason why we have kept Rowley a blue site.

“Of course our patients have been wonderful too, as no one has questioned or disagreed with how things have had to be. Our colleagues have all played a role in this by keeping patients up to date with ever-changing news. We initiated a daily call home to next of kin (with consent) and enabled those patients who were able and wanted to, to Facetime or call loved ones, to maintain essential family contact. This has been so well received; we are keen to maintain it into the future as our patients look forward to that contact.

“In the future, I think many changes will become the norm for us at Rowley, as technology has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. I have spoken to more people and met more people during online meetings than I would have done before the pandemic, and that in turn has developed some pretty good pathways around discharge and our length of stay.”

Annie Williams, Practice Education Nurse iBeds, said: “The team have become much closer across all departments during COVID-19. It feels as though we all know each other on a different level – kindness has been at the heart of the Trust’s pandemic response and that message is evident in how staff interact with each other – greeting each other and asking “how are you today?” and having true meaning behind it.”

Lady Ann Ordona, Senior Sister on McCarthy Ward added: “The pandemic has changed not only my way of working but also my personal life. We want to give the best nursing care to our patients and facilitate their safe discharge, but not knowing if any of my patients have COVID-19 is a stress. One thing I’m sure of and it’s not only here in Rowley Regis, we’ve seen how the NHS has come together and that makes me proud to be a part of what they call the frontline.”