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Credit
Sara Hiles's film - Final edited version. In copyright. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Sara Hiles, Resuscitation Officer, Nurse - Ward Manager at Newham University Hospital, filmed in artist's studio in September 2020.
Pre-Covid Sara Hiles worked as a resuscitation officer and in a resus officer role. Half of time spent on teaching on basic life support courses to the hospital staff and the other half of the time she attends emergency calls for cardiac arrest and for medical emergency throughout the hospital.She describes her experience during the early COVID 19 pandemic, when the virus spread rapidly and patients often deteriorated suddenly due to severe immune responses. She was redeployed to manage a newly converted COVID ward located in a former Gynaecology Day Unit. The ward was not equipped for acutely unwell respiratory patients, oxygen supplies were limited, essential medications were missing, and staff were unfamiliar with both the environment and each other. This lack of continuity, combined with rapidly changing PPE guidance and shortages created constant stress. One of the most difficult aspects was caring for frail patients who were not suitable for intensive care due to limited capacity and the aggressive nature of ITU interventions.
Families were barred from visiting unless patients were actively dying, leaving nurses to be the only people present in their final moments. Sara Hiles found this emotionally challenging, feeling unworthy of being in place of loved ones.
Coping during this period relied heavily on small but meaningful acts of support. Friends delivered meals, messages from loved ones provided comfort, and cycling to work became a mental escape from the intensity of the ward. Only later did the emotional impact surface fully, accompanied by frustration at the lack of wider recognition of what frontline workers had endured. Reflecting on the experience, Sara Hiles stresses the need for health systems to learn from frontline staff.
Keywords: Accident and Emergency (A&E), High Dependency Unit (HDU), Preparedness, Teamwork, Leadership, Impact on family, Difficult conversations, Death from Covid, Nursing, Trauma