Nursing staff exhausted: “burned the candle at both ends”

The number of Covid patients has increased very considerably in the hospitals in Skåne.

In recent days, CSK has had a record number of Covid patients. On Thursday morning, 29 people with ascertained Covid-19 were taken care for. It is only SUS in Malmö which has more in Skåne. The staff has also become ill.

On Thursday, about 35 employees in the infection and medicine department were infected with Covid-19. In other parts of the hospital there are about "ten".

The Careworkers´ union, the Swedish Medical Association, and the Swedish Municipal Workers’ Union all testify to a heavy load.

Sten Östensson, chairman of Eastern Skåne’s Medical Association, says that the infection doctors are being called in from holidays.

– They have a maximum number of 25 patients. Many have 22, but this weekend, with corona patients, it could be 40-plus, says Sten Östensson.

Janet Brunnström, chief safety representative for the Municipal Workers’ Union at CSK, says that many did not have enough time to recover before the corona situation got worse again.

– The staff is still tired after the spring wave of corona. And it has been a tough summer. Then comes this wave, she says.

– I think it will be a tough autumn for a large part of the staff. It can be a reaction with increased sick leave, because you have burned the candle at both ends.

Gösta Klinteberg, chief safety representative for the Swedish Municipal Workers’ Union, is also worried.

– Assistant nurses are a resilient group. We will certainly make it through the year, but if it continues into the next year, we will have major problems, both among assistant nurses and nurses.

In which way?

– Then people are both mentally and physically tired.

– We are very apprehensive that there will be a lot more cases including staff members. You cannot go home because you are tired, you keep working, but how long can you do it?