A Nottingham nurse says the hospital is better placed to handle outbreak but reveals there are major challenges ahead “with increasing stress levels on the ward”.

The Queens Medical Centre (QMC) has faced the constraints of the new Covid variant and the ever tougher restrictions that come along with this.

A nurse from QMC, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It has been a more pressurised environment when working under Covid restrictions. There have been increased infection measures put into place to try and stop the spread of the new variant”.

She adds: “This however means it can take longer in vital situations to perform procedures, increasing the level of stress in the ward”.

The Nottingham-based nurse has worked in multiple departments alongside midwives, including neonatal intensive care unit and the orthopaedics which is the main children’s hospital.

There has been a large media presence and uproar around the care of our NHS nurses and midwives recently in Nottingham.

The “March with Midwives” demonstration saw hundreds of people march at Forest recreation ground, protesting against the lack of investment from the the government and a shortage of staff.

“There have been increased infection measures put into place to try and stop the spread of the new variant” – QMC NURSE

A survey from The Royal College of Midwives found that understaffing led to 57 percent of midwives saying they want to leave the NHS over the coming year.

The QMC nurse said: “There is already a shortage of nurses, so when numbers drop it puts immense pressure on staff in an already intense environment”.

Although the environment is hectic in the hospital, the front line nurse added: “There is good counselling to help manager stress and anxiety around situations faced in the hospitals. However due to long hours and the stressful nature of the job in some wards staff morale can be quite low”.

CBJ has contacted the QMC and is awaiting a response.