DRAINED and exhausted and often on the verge of tears staff at Scotland’s biggest hospital were able to enter their rest area for a moment to pause and reflect on another gruelling shift.
The rest hub at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital became a place where those treating terminally ill covid patients could come to off load or simply sit quietly.
Offering a supportive shoulder, albeit socially distanced, was Chaplain Jim Meighan, based at the Royal Children's Hospital for the past six years. He was among those drafted in to the specially out on the hub.
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“We were there to give the staff a chance for them to vent if they had had a particularly difficult shift they could say things in the R and R hub. Some of them were were young and starting out in their medical careers and they were getting great support from consultants who wouldn’t let them make any difficult decisions on their own. They didn’t moan they only thing they would say was how they wanted to grow and do everything they could for their patients. It really was quite an eye opener in what was the worst of times you got the best of people,” said Mr Meighan.
“They had resolved to be everything they needed to be to get through the day and they displayed no outward sign of fear or hesitation during those first months, for that moment in time, they were one. They were supported by consultancy teams and senior management who did everything possible to protect them from the ravages that lay ahead.
“They would maybe come over in groups and talk about how they were feeling. We would sometimes see more than 300 people a day. You would gauge how they were feeling when they came in if they wanted to talk or if they were just in for a rest. Or they might have wanted a bit of mindfulness to have a break.”
Mr Meighan, who is involved in a special lockdown anniversary project for The Herald memorial garden campaign, added: “Through time the staff got to know me and you would maybe see them on the wards and help talk them through a difficult situation. In the first wave we were right in the thick of it and with the second wave we are still there to see them through it.
“My role was to listen and often I followed these conversations up by visiting them during breaks on the wards. The purpose was to let them vent, hear and understand what was actually going on behind those closed doors. In some cases it was feelings of helplessness that ate into their soul. Some were able to articulate it but others found it difficult and tears were often shed in the attempt.
“You had a situation where staff would be coming on shift that day and a patient they had been looking after, formed a relationship with, might have died in the night. Early on in the pandemic the survival rate in ICU was just one in five so there was the potential staff were going to find the people they had been caring for for days were gone, but then they needed to be resilient and be there for the next patient.
“I would go out to see the paramedics who had brought people in at the start of their journey with covid as they needed support as well. Even down to the mortuary staff who were maintaining their professionalism throughout, everyone was affected.”
Mr Meighan, who was in his 40s before he swapped his business career to train for the ministry, was nearing retirement last year, but knew that would not be happening in the middle of a pandemic.
He recalled one dark day four years ago when he lost six people in one day and while he is comforting those in need from staff to families, where does he turn to for support.
“We are able to access what is called supervision when you can talk through things, but at times I could see it was affecting them as well. I tend to call my wife up on the way home from a shift and she’ll ask how it was on a scale of one to 10. If it is 10 it is a bad day.”
Mr Meighan had been involved in the memorial tree project at the children’s hospital which allows bereaved parents to place their child’s name on it perhaps for a birthday or special occasion and he is all too aware people need somewhere to grieve.
“Somewhere like the memorial garden is important for people to be able to have somewhere to pay their respects.”
The Herald is leading a campaign to create a memorial garden as a fitting tribute to every Scot who has lost their life to coronavirus.
Since it launched last year it has widespread support and a public fund has raised more than £43,000.
Glasgow City Council leaders Lord Provost Philip Braat and Council leader, Councillor Susan Aitken generously offered a site in the city’s Pollok Country Park for the location of the memorial.
To donate go to The Herald memorial garden go to gofundme.com/ herald-garden-of-remembrance. You can also send donations via post to The Herald Garden of Remembrance Campaign, Herald & Times, 125 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow, G32 8FG. Keep up to date with the latest news at www.heraldscotland.com/campaigns/memorial-garden/
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