Journal of Community Nursing

30 JCN 2020,Vol 34, No 4 Reflections on returning to the front line with the Covid-19 crisis Viewpoints Georgina Ritchie, principal lecturer for family, community and public health, University of Central Lancashire Lisa Ashworth, district nurse and lecturer in community specialist practice, University of Central Lancashire S ince joining the university as a lecturer in district nursing in April 2019, I have continued to undertake clinical work for a local NHS foundation trust. My last face-to-face clinical work with direct patient care was in February before the lockdown occurred. When the UK went into lockdown, I had to make decisions around whether I would continue with my clinical role considering the current pandemic. This was not an easy decision to make. Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, my husband was placed in the at-risk category at the start of lockdown. My desire to help on the front line had to be weighed against the possibility of bringing the virus home and putting my loved ones at risk. I did, however, want to contribute to the NHS’s valiant effort in these difficult times. Knowing that my former colleagues were under intense pressure with increased caseloads and reduced staffing levels with inevitable sickness within teams, helped me make the decision to step forward. I made the decision to undertake work as clinical triage on the district nurse evening service, taking the responsibility for shift leadership. This involves managing and triaging phone calls and referrals from patients and their families, paramedics, GPs, carers and other healthcare professionals, and ensuring that visits are undertaken by an appropriate team member when required. For the first few shifts I was incredibly anxious about working in a health centre, with possible risks from surface contamination. My husband had been furloughed and I was working from home and so neither of us had left the house apart from undertaking essential shopping. These T his year has presented greater challenges to community and district nurse education than ever before. Within higher education institutions, we have certainly felt the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in a variety of ways, but I am proud to say that within my own university, the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), we made the switch to online teaching with consummate ease and have continued to provide teaching and learning support for our precious students throughout the lock down. But, for some lecturers within our faculty, continuing the‘business unusual’ approach to teaching and learning was also accompanied by a personal drive to return to the front line of NHS care. With the support of our school leadership, I am proud to say that within my own team of family community and public health specialists, more than 75% of us were able to offer support to front line colleagues in a variety of forms. I myself volunteered to return to my roots of district nursing, although in the event, thankfully I wasn’t needed. I did sleep a little easier knowing that I had volunteered to help though. However, I wanted to share with you the experiences of three of my colleagues from UCLan who returned to a variety of front line areas; district nursing services, an acute Covid-19 ward, and specialist palliative care services at our local hospice.