Scots nurses are terrified to go to work because they claim a lack of infection control is putting them at risk of coronavirus.
One has spoken tearfully to the Record about her ordeal as she tries to save lives while fearing she could pick up the virus
Laura (not her real name) revealed her fears of a lack of consistent infection control policy at various Glasgow hospitals.
She said: “I am terrified to go to my work. The hospitals are not as clean as they should be and they are not following any kind of procedure to prevent this infection spreading.
“I am sure I am going to get it. I know several people who are thinking of leaving because they are so scared.
“I don’t feel safe for the first time in my life. I feel safer going to work on a dirty train than in these wards. I know nurses who have written to their MPs but the Daily Record was the only one I could think of who would really highlight our problems.”
Laura works between the Vale of Leven Hospital in Dunbartonshire, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and she said even those three hospitals - all run under the care of Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board - were taking different approaches.
Laura said: “We are nursing people who may be confirmed as having Covid-19 or are suspected of having it.
"At the Vale of Leven, they are really on top of infection control and when you leave the room, there is a bin outside to deposit your mask. But in the other hospitals, you have to take your masks off and bin them while you are still in the room alongside a patient with the infection.
“Some patients are coughing badly. Some are terribly ill. There are people dying everywhere but more are going to get infected unless they get on top of infection control.”
She claimed there was no sign of anyone from infection control on wards, adding: “It is a scandal.”
Another bank nurse said: “There is different information every day in every hospital. Full-time nurses have had enough and many are off sick. There is a nightmare ahead.”
A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde said: “We fully appreciate this is a very challenging time for all our staff – the most challenging of their careers, without doubt.
“We are putting in place extra support for staff including a support line and a dedicated inquiries email for staff. We follow the national guidance on Covid-19, including the latest guidance in relation to what PPE is necessary for all of our staff.”
She added that “rigorous cleaning schedules continue in the wake of Covid-19” and urged nurses to raise any issues they have with their line manager.
