Fear and Hope

Here's me (top) and
Sian Schofield (bottom)

Health minister Nadine Dorries joined our mental health trust CEO webinar earlier this week. During the discussion, she highlighted how people are treating her differently following her recovery from coronavirus.

She said she could feel their fear, worried they would catch the virus even with social distancing; and this got me thinking about our hopes and fears in this current climate and how they work in tandem.  There is no hope without fear, and no fear without hope.

Anxieties are understandably high at the moment. You can see it in behaviours, hear it in conversations and read it online.

And while there is massive fear about contracting the virus, especially hearing some of the hugely sad stories about people who have lost their lives, there is also fear about social isolation, money and jobs. It’s completely normal to feel this sort of fear.

There are also specific anxieties for those staff working on the frontline. It’s essential that we follow the strict government guidance and support staff to work from home where possible. But I’m very conscious that there is now a world of difference in our day to day lives between those of us able to work from home and our frontline staff going into busy clinical areas or having face to face consultations with patients.

I was really struck by a tweet from a hospital doctor along the lines of, “I wish I wasn’t a doctor. I wish I wasn’t scared. I wish I was able to work at home” .

We have fantastically courageous and committed clinicians, but we have to acknowledge their emotions and do whatever we can to address the concerns they have. I know a lot of this fear (and anger) is still around personal protective equipment and testing, and we will not stop doing everything we can to try and keep you safe. It’s also important we provide as much wellbeing and resilience support as we can. That’s why we‘ve introduced SilverCloud, an online course to help manage stress, anxiety and depression, as well as a range of other new apps.

Fear is a powerful emotion, and has the potential to paralyse us if it’s all we focus on, but instead we’re seeing first-hand the momentum for action that it can unlock. That’s where hope comes in.

It’s amazing how many things are being progressed at record speed, from plans to move liaison teams out of A&E to setting up a patient helpline. We’re bringing in software and training for remote patient consultations and held an online training session for 130 doctors on Wednesday.

It’s difficult to see how the NHS will not emerge stronger from this pandemic, however traumatic and stressful the coming months will be.

So many of you are going above and beyond. They say that the light shines brightest in the darkness, and you just need to look on our social media channels to read about colleagues taking on additional roles and giving extra time to train and support others. We’ll be highlighting these in our new Together We Can daily email update which kicks off today. This update is an addition to our current daily information update and aims to complement it with acknowledgments and appreciation.

There have been so many acts of kindness, with staff doing that little bit extra to help each other through: from homemade cheese and onion pie, to yoga sessions.

Hope is popping up in windows, streets and symbolic messages. My daughter took my little granddaughter out on a rainbow hunt at the start of this week and they counted 43 rainbows in people’s windows. And I’m sure we all heard the clapping again yesterday evening and felt immensely moved by the collective love and appreciation for NHS and key workers.

Sian Schofield, our associate director of nursing and health care professionals has spent many days swabbing patients, along with our matrons and head of nursing, and I asked Sian to briefly share her thoughts in this blog.

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“In these unprecedented times, the response I have seen from staff has been outstanding. The NHS gets criticised for so much so often, but over the last few weeks we have all demonstrated that we absolutely all pull together as one team. We are all rising to this huge challenge.

I love nursing and I know that with the amount of care nurses have for their patients, staff will be taking work home with them. We will all have anxieties at the moment, but it’s crucial for us to find a way to shut off when we’re with our families and for us to maintain resilience.

I am in awe when I have been to the wards. Outside of the extra procedural steps taken in these times, you wouldn’t know there is anything majorly different, such is the calm and considered manner that staff are running their wards. This is despite the fact there are a whole host of more complex patient needs our teams now have to deal with.

My team have truly been outstanding. People are working outside of their normal roles, coming it at weekends, taking calls and more with no questions asked.

Everybody has really gone above and beyond, I’m extremely proud of them and they are an absolute delight to work with”.

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In our anxiety we are drawing deep reserves of strength from others. In our isolation we are rediscovering community. In our fragmentation we are rediscovering the value of collaboration and partnership.

There will be stress and sorrow in the months ahead. But I also believe that this pandemic offers a profound opportunity and responsibility to unite in shared hope as we envision a better future.

As Maya Angelou, the American civil rights activist, said, “Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Invite one to stay.”

Best wishes,
Claire
You can follow me on Twitter @ClaireMolloy2