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Credit
Petra Francis's film - Final edited version with audio description and transcript. In copyright. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Petra Francis, Acute Respiratory Nurse and Ward Manager at Newham University Hospital, filmed in artist's studio in October 2020.
In the film Petra Francis reflects on her career, identity as a nurse and her experiences during the COVID 19 pandemic. She recalls starting at Barts Health in 2003 as a Receptionist and Healthcare Assistant, progressing through nurse training supported by the Trust, and becoming a Ward Manager. She finds a strong sense of purpose in nursing and she feels she makes a real difference every day at Newham.
Petra Francis recalls the fear of the unknown during the pandemic, rapidly changing guidance, and the shock of how quickly patients deteriorated and died. Working on a respiratory ward, she was involved in high risk aerosol generating procedures and contracted COVID early in the pandemic, along with her family. She describes overwhelming workloads, staff shortages, long hours in full PPE, and the emotional trauma of witnessing frequent deaths and seeing patients dying alone without their families present.
She explains in detail end of life care procedure which includes providing comfort through hand holding, video calls, and memory making for families.
Petra Francis highlights the solidarity and humour among staff, strong leadership teamwork with doctors, volunteers, and redeployed staff, and support from the local community through messages and food donations. She emphasises how teamwork helped staff survive the most intense periods.
Petra talks about staff exhaustion, low mood, and burnout. She felt unable to fully explain her experiences to her family and friends and talking with colleagues who shared the same experiences became vital. Looking back, she felt the pandemic helped her grow into a stronger leader with greater emotional resilience.
Keywords: High Dependency Unit (HDU), Death from Covid, Impact on family, Leadership, Covid testing, PPE, Teamwork, Management
Reflective