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Stretched nurses have pleaded with the public to get vaccinated and boosted over Christmas to ease the strain on the NHS.
Staff at King’s College Hospital in south-east London said while social distancing and wearing masks was important, getting both jabs as well as boosters was the “best thing” that people can do to prevent themselves from getting Omicron.
Nicky Barlow, 30, a critical care sister who works in the Covid intensive care unit at King’s, said they have found patients being admitted to hospital with Covid are younger than before.
She said: “We are very stretched from a nursing point of view, we’ve had lots of sickness due to Covid positive cases and contacts.
“The nurses are all very tired because they’re all having to take on a lot more responsibility than they normally would due to the stretched staffing. We’re seeing the majority of patients that are coming in with Covid are not vaccinated and they’re also younger as well this time around.”
Outlining what can be done to ease the stress on them, she added: “The majority of Covid patients that are coming in aren’t vaccinated.
“All the patients that have had their vaccine seem to have not as bad symptoms. I would [say] get vaccinated. I’ve been vaccinated, I’ve had my booster, I would encourage all the staff to have their boosters. I think that’s the best thing that we could do.
“Wearing masks and social distancing is helpful too.”
Dr Laura Jane Smith, 39, is a respiratory consultant in one of the hospital’s two wards for Covid patients.
She said: “There’s only so much that people can do, but the things that really make a difference is looking after themselves and really thinking hard about getting their vaccinations.
“What we’re seeing is that they [the vaccines] do make a huge difference to the severity of disease. People might still have some hesitancy and I just advise them to try and make sure they’re getting really good information from trusted sources and just rethink to try and protect themselves and their loved ones.
“We all treat everyone the same, unvaccinated, vaccinated or whatever, but we see what a difference it makes, and so we really hope that people could reconsider that decision.”
Kate Amy, 26, a labour ward midwife, encouraged those who are waiting to give birth to try and minimise contact with others before having their babies.
“We’re here to care for you, Covid or no Covid. We’re still here, we’re still committed. Birth is always a wonderful thing, no matter what form it comes in,” she said.
“If you are able to minimise contacts that will be brilliant to keep you safe and to keep staff members safe. But overall, no matter what, we’re here to care for you and we’ll keep you safe.”
Dr Tom Best, 53, a consultant in the critical care unit at King’s College, said he hoped people have a better understanding of how they can end up catching Covid.
“I think people do need to know and people do know the potential consequences and how dangerous and beastly this virus can be,” he said.
“I think we just have to look after each other, protect ourselves and look after those around us that are more vulnerable. That’s the thing we can do for the Christmas holidays.”