Authors (including presenting author) :
LEE KW(1), LEUNG LM(1), NG YB(2), TANG SK(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Nursing Services Division, United Christian Hospital (2) Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
Hospital Authority had activated the emergency response level under COVID-19 and isolation wards were converted accordingly. Healthcare professionals were deployed, potentially at a significant cost to their own health, to stretch the capacity of isolation beds. To understand the impact of working on a pandemic from healthcare workers’ perspectives is crucial to sustain the morale of the deployed staff and to maintain the quality of care.
Objectives :
1. To explore the experience of deployed staff on the physiological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects. 2. To collect feedback on the preparation and management of the staff deployment to high-risk areas.
Methodology :
Small focus group interviews were conducted with each batch of nurses and PCAs who completed the deployment period. Semi-structured interviews with an open-ended question approach were adopted. Convenience sampling was exercised and the input was obtained through note-taking by the facilitators during the 45-minute interview. The data was further analyzed across groups and organized into themes.
Result & Outcome :
33 deployed staff (22 nurses and 11 PCAs, deployment period ranged from 4 to over 6 weeks) were interviewed in 10 sessions from February to May 2020. Three stages of experience were identified. Pre-deployment Stage Generally, deployed staff expressed the notification of deployment, and duty arrangements were rush. They recalled the first-day deployment training was adequate to allay anxiety and facilitate greater confidence. Psychologically, some of the staff considered resignation concerning themselves and their families being infected. During Deployment Psychologically, the uncertainty of their roles and personal protective equipment supply affected the deployed staff. Colleagues from non-inpatient services found depressed to work on irregular duty pattern. They found that the buddy system and support from original isolation staff were important for them to pick up their role while clear alignment and shared decision making between senior managers and frontline were valued in high priority under the rapidly changing situation. Socially, they expressed a sense of isolation and found it difficult to explain to their family the reasons for voluntarily join the "dirty" team. Post-deployment Stage Retrospectively, deployed staff treasured the experience to work with colleagues from different units while teamwork and peer support were emphasized in high-risk areas. Spiritually, they found it rewarding and meaningful as they reflected on their roles and visions, especially from the gratitude of patients, concurrent to the pressure mentioned above. Conclusion Suggestions were collected included providing clinical information package and unify working uniform after confirmation of deployment were actualized to benefit subsequent deploy-in colleagues. A better understanding of the experiences and needs of the deployed staff facilitated the support to the subsequent deploy-in colleagues. More importantly to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19, promote resilience before departure and support the longer-term well-being of the healthcare workforce.
