The Royal College of Nursing Critical Care and Flight Nurse forum has approximately 8800 members, made up of nurses working in critical care and office-based international medical assistance, as well as flight nurses who help medically repatriate patients. We have a multi-skilled steering committee and an active Facebook group which offer guidance, develop standards and best practice, and deliver education and resources to our members.
In critical care the situation is extremely challenging especially around the around nurse staffing, availability of PPE, essential equipment, and pharmaceuticals. But there is also much positive change especially in relation to support from non-critical care colleagues, and identifying new and innovative ways to work together in such a complex care setting. Nurses have also had to adjust and support a rapidly increased bed capacity and higher ratio of ventilated patients in a very short space of time. Working as a team, being resilient and supporting one another is essential for success.
Working long hours, often without breaks, wearing full PPE and being under immense pressure from caring for critically ill patients is difficult to say the least. It is not only physically demanding but also emotionally. Communication with friends and relatives who are unable to visit their loved ones requires compassion and strength especially during end of life care. The enormity of these pressures may also make it hard for nurses to decompress in the short and long term.
The medical assistance industry is also facing exceptional changes with the reduction in global mobility. In many companies there was an initial surge in case activity with business and leisure travellers requiring urgent advice and guidance on the impact of COVID-19 on their travels. Nurses who deliver telephonic triage needed to quickly up-skill their knowledge of how COVID-19 was affecting different locations in terms of clinical impact, health infrastructure and travel restrictions. Local health facilities overseas may be overstretched and there needs to be even closer vigilance in medically monitoring care being received for any condition to ensure optimal health outcomes, especially in resource-poor countries. There are further challenges when arranging logistics for repatriations as it is much harder to admit patients into UK hospitals and, with borders closing at short notice, to move them from one country to another. To arrange for medical crew to collect patients by air ambulance or commercial carrier takes careful planning and consideration due to enhanced regulations around air travel.
The response from the forum’s members to these challenging times has been nothing short of exceptional. The last few months have been a rapidly changing landscape for our flight nurses, and unpredictability around the future of the industry. Many flight and office-based nurses have returned to clinical settings to work in EDs and ICUs to support their colleagues and provide much needed care to patients. It has been overwhelming to see the commitment and passion of these returning nurses, and undoubtedly a welcome sight to the NHS. It also really highlights the sheer resilience, experience, adaptability and professionalism of this nursing community.
We are very proud of our members and honoured to be able to support them during these unprecedented times. We are actively working on our webinar education series and more detail will be provided in due course. We encourage you to please reach out should you have any questions, suggestions, or need advice and support.
Share on X (formerly Twitter)
Share on Facebook
