‘You can see the pain in their eyes’: Teenage NHS worker, 19, reveals the grim reality of 13-hour shifts on a coronavirus ward
- Healthcare assistant Lucy Hutchings works 13-hour shifts on a coronavirus ward
- Miss Hutchings says people ignoring the lockdown are ‘irresponsible’
- Her hospital warned there may be an increase in younger people getting virus
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A teenager working on a coronavirus ward for 13 hours a day has shared a tearful selfie and slammed ‘irresponsible’ Brits still ignoring the lockdown.
Lucy Hutchings, 19, revealed the emotional toll of treating elderly patients with coronavirus, some of whom were on end-of-life support.
The healthcare assistant, who works at Southampton General Hospital, claimed her hospital was running out of essential personal protective equipment and said she is scared about the increasing number of patients she has seen with the virus.
Many of the wards at her hospital, including her own, have been closed and reserved for Covid-19 patients.
Lucy Hutchings (pictured) a teenager working on a coronavirus ward for 13 hours a day has shared a tearful selfie and slammed irresponsible Brits still ignoring the lockdown
She said: ‘We get people who are on end-of-life support and people who don’t need ventilators.
‘Lots of the patients need oxygen and most are in their late 60s to 90s.
‘You can see in their eyes that some of them are in pain – they’re saying they’re fine but they’re not fine.
‘It’s really sad to see people with the virus. This is real life and watching people in pain and suffer is devastating.
‘I’m scared and think it’s going to get worse – it feels like it’s only the beginning.’
The healthcare assistant, from Southampton, said they are expecting to see an influx of younger people with the virus
Miss Hutchings said she gets anxious about the situation and didn’t think it would get to this.
‘When I go into the ward I just have to act normal but when you’re putting on all your gear and about to go into the room it’s like, ‘Wow, this is what it has come to’.
‘Everybody I work with is scared but they’re also amazing as they do such a great job.’
While most of the patients in her ward are aged 40 and older, she said staff at the hospital were warned they may soon see an influx of younger people with the virus.
She said: ‘[People] think, ‘Oh I won’t get it I’ll be fine’ but it’s not fine, it’s killing hundreds of people every day.
‘The quicker people stay indoors, the quicker it will be over.
The healthcare assistant (pictured) said lots of the patients need oxygen and at the moment most are in their late 60s to 90s
‘I’d like to stay at home and eat food and do what I want too but I can’t, so for people to go against the rules it’s so stupid and irresponsible.
‘Staying home is a privilege.
‘This is real – this is not a joke, everyone needs to take what’s being said seriously.’
Lucy doesn’t want to pass the virus on to her parents and brother, who she lives with, so she has barely spent any time with them since the beginning of the pandemic.
Since she started treating patients she has come straight home, had a shower and gone to her room.
Her heartfelt plea gained 145,000 likes, comments and shares on Facebook since she posted it on Wednesday.