Medical personnel in the intensive care units are actively doing their part in the battle against COVID-19.
Sam Bates, a research nurse said that wearing protective gear all day is tiring. She said that she usually gets headaches after hours of wearing it while not even realising its effects.
Hospital staff may work for more than 12 hours on a busy day.
Dr. Forbes McGain, deputy ICU head said that even if they have breaks, they can’t take it as it is because they are required to practice social distancing. He said that even at home, he can’t really enjoy the breaks he can have.
The two personnel are employed in Footscray Hospital in Melbourne. The hospital has a very busy intensive care unit, ridden with COVID-19 patients.
Intensive care filling up very fast
In most cases, a COVID-19 patient will die without family members by their side, only the companionship of a nurse assigned to them.
Ms. Bates said that the intensive care unit in their hospital is filling up very fast. It distresses and causes anxiety to hospital staff.
The set-up of most intensive care units is far different from the former ones to ensure that the virus cannot infect hospital staff anymore.
Dr. McGain said that he can’t lose any staff during the situation. It is a domino effect that can put other staff at risk especially if the cause is COVID-19. Quarantine measures must be in place for the next 14 days, and such a thing would be very problematic for the whole unit.
This isn’t the peak yet
The increasing rate of community transmission in Victoria raises alarm to workers in the region.
For the next two weeks, patients will pile up in ICU as new cases were recorded each day.
Dr. McGain said that continuous infections will eventually lead to intensive care units of hospitals, adding problems to the working staff in the said unit.
Courtnay Bisson, a critical care nurse said that they can already feel the strain but isn’t that worried yet.
She said that the peak of the second surge isn’t happening yet and there is more to come. However, she expressed her confidence in the unit as they are prepared for what is going to happen eventually.
ICU experience
Reporter Marty McCarthy said that he can still recount his experience with an intensive care unit. He was infected with COVID-19 back in March and was admitted to an intensive care unit.
He underwent a series of tests due to his symptoms. And after coming out positive, he was admitted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital ICU for close monitoring.
He said that he didn’t want to argue with the nurse after all so he just complied with all the requirements.
Although he survived the disease, he can still recount his encounter with a man who was admitted at Footscray Hospital who did not survive despite being admitted to intensive care.
The man is included in a small minority who did not survive COVID-19. Statistics may vary from one country to another yet there is more to come as the pandemic continue to affect the world.
A fighting chance for the critically ill
The second wave of COVID-19 in Australia is bearable as compared to its first phases.
New treatment options are introduced from various clinical trials around the world and these options offer a fighting chance for the critically ill.
One example would be the use of heparin, a blood-thinning medication that can help patients to get rid of ventilators.
Dr. Barry Dixon, an intensive care doctor who leads the trial, said that heparin can be inhaled through ventilators. After a series of trials, they found out that it can speed up recovery from complications due to COVID-19.
Although further research is required, this new approach promises a new way for the medical staff as well as for the patients to deal with the impending threat of COVID-19.
Developing treatments
At Austin Health, doctors develop a new approach to treat COVID-19 complications. They use zinc chloride within an intravenous fluid.
This can improve the oxygenation levels of the patients in the long run.
Doctors are still taking a closer look at the method because it should require larger trials. However, they will continue to do it to determine if zinc can help in improving the overall condition of the patients.
The second wave of COVID-19 promises new treatment methods for new patients and future ones.
For example, at Monash Medical Centre, Dr. Zoe McQuiten uses plasma of recovered COVID-19 patients.
They give it to new patients to see whether the antibodies it has can be beneficial.
Another prospective treatment would be remi sivir, which was granted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Currently, Australia has a sufficient supply of the said drug.
Preparing for more ICU patients
Hospitals are more prepared in dealing with the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.
After the first wave, medical units were able to train new medical personnel and expand their ICU.
Stephen Warrillow, the incumbent intensive care director at Austin Health said that he is still a concern with the number of patients who will enter ICU in the next coming days.
Their preparation is commendable yet there is more to expect in the next few weeks.
For the past six months, medical professionals in Australia learned a lot from their own experiences. Their preparations to deal with the second wave were clear manifestations of such. Continuous and tireless efforts coming from the medical professionals ensure that despite the challenges that COVID-19 may bring, they come prepared to handle it.
