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Ealing’s Rapid Response Team
The arrival of coronavirus at Ealing Hospital saw A&E domestic cleaner Engelbert Camilleri reassigned to the Rapid Response Team. The 26 year-old was tasked with terminal cleans of areas where Covid-positive patients had been assessed. Engelbert said: “We had been training for several weeks including putting on and taking off PPE equipment we were naturally all a bit concerned about what to expect. “I remember my bleeper going off one morning asking me to clean a room that had been vacated by a patient who was suspected of having Covid-19. I thought here we go. Engelbert and his colleagues put on their protective equipment and went to work with the aid of chlorinated products. All PPE and cleaning equipment was disposed of after each terminal clean to minimise the risk of cross contamination. Engelbert describes his experience: “It took us about 30 minutes the first time. The trickiest is theatres because there is a lot of equipment to clean and several side rooms off the main operating area.” “It was stressful to start with but you adapt and just get on with it like all the other staff. We’re a big family at the end of the day and we got through it together.
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“It’s been an experience but we got through it. We don’t know if and when a second wave will come but we’ve got through it once so know we can do it again.”
Physio’s fight against pandemic
Asports injury picked up playing rugby influenced Alexander Bereziuk’s decision to become a physiotherapist. “I was out with dislocated shoulder and fractured elbow for several months so there was plenty of time to think,” recalls the 26 year-old who was one of many physiotherapists redeployed to help fight Covid-19 at Northwick Park. Outpatients was one of the departments whose routine work was suspended to help reduce the potential spread of the virus. Alexander started out delivering prescriptions to patients who were shielding. He later joined the proning teams in intensive care helping turn patients onto their chest to help them breath. The proning teams, which included anaesthetists, nurses and physiotherapists, were required to turn up to 16 patients a shift at the height of the pandemic in April. Alexander said: “It’s hard work, especially in PPE equipment. The patients were heavily sedated but they had a lot of equipment coming in and out of them. We used a technique where you wrap the patients in their bed sheets to turn them over and then back again after several hours.” To protect his flat-mate from the risk of infection Alexander moved out of home and in with a colleague who was also working in intensive care. Alexander added: “It’s all a bit of a blur looking back on it but I’ve got to know so many colleagues that I wouldn’t normally have met. It was great to just see people from all over the Trust come together to do what needed to be done. There was no fuss. Everyone just got on with the work.” He is now using his physio skills to help get patients with Covid back on their feet. With many so weakened by the virus they initially struggle to raise their arms or sit up unaided. Some of those are patients he helped turn while in intensive care. Many patients who are recovering have only a vague recollection of being in intensive care. A booklet has been written by the senior physiotherapy team explaining to patients what they went through and what to expect on their journey to recovery. Alex added: “The booklets help patients understand what happened to them and how they were looked after. A lot of patients have found them useful while processing the whole experience”. Alex and his colleagues are now slowly getting back to normal and have been busy producing a series of short exercise and rehab videos for patients to use once they have been discharged. Has the experience changed him? “We’ve all been through something extraordinary together and it does teach you not to take things for granted. “I haven’t seen my family for three months but plan to see them as soon as I can.
