Coronavirus: ‘Unpredictable’ symptoms add to pressures being faced by ‘amazing’ staff in ICU, says consultant

A Belfast consultant says coronavirus is causing a range of unusual and unpredictable symptoms and praised staff who battle through 13-hour shifts to nurse them back to health.
Dr George Gardiner, consultant in anaesthetics and critical care medicine with Belfast Trust, praised intensive care staff in how they deal with a range of severe and unpredictable symptoms in Covid-19 patientsDr George Gardiner, consultant in anaesthetics and critical care medicine with Belfast Trust, praised intensive care staff in how they deal with a range of severe and unpredictable symptoms in Covid-19 patients
Dr George Gardiner, consultant in anaesthetics and critical care medicine with Belfast Trust, praised intensive care staff in how they deal with a range of severe and unpredictable symptoms in Covid-19 patients

Dr George Gardiner, consultant in anaesthetics and critical care medicine, said the real story of the battles being fought overnight in Intensive Care Units (ICU) has not yet been told.

“In Covid there is an element of delirium that we have never seen before so universally with patients in intensive care, which means that they are often confused and agitated,” Dr Gardiner told the News Letter.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Patients seem to have more severe delirium, they have a higher incidence of renal failure and they have impaired blood clotting and inflammatory responses. All this leads to prolonged stays in ICU with multiple organ support and slow recovery times.”

Belfast intensive care consultant Dr George Gardiner praised staff who give their all during overnight shifts to support Covid-19 patients. Photo: Michael Cooper/PA WireBelfast intensive care consultant Dr George Gardiner praised staff who give their all during overnight shifts to support Covid-19 patients. Photo: Michael Cooper/PA Wire
Belfast intensive care consultant Dr George Gardiner praised staff who give their all during overnight shifts to support Covid-19 patients. Photo: Michael Cooper/PA Wire

He added: “There is a common misconception that you can go to sleep in intensive care and two weeks later you wake up and everything is over.

“But after weeks in ICU our patients don’t just wake up and recover. We need to work with them as they slowly start to improve, almost too weak to cough or raise their heads with physios and nurses helping to mobilise them and build up muscle tone and strength.” This process can take weeks, but as the delirium is “unusual and quite unpredictable” breathing tubes can become attached.

This requires “very high intensity nursing care” to replace breathing tubes, if necessary.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When coping with a large number of such patients it is easy to see the challenge that has been faced, he said. Critical care staff and those who have come into ICU from other areas to help have been “amazing”.

“They have picked up new skills, adapted to new surroundings and developed methods of communicating while wearing PPE using everything from pen and paper to voice-activated wearable devices.”

He added: “One only has to look at the faces, exhausted after a 13-hour night shift and marked by the pressure and the straps of the protective masks, to see how much they are giving.”

However, they can only do it because of all the “equally vital” support staff jobs – the cleaners, canteen staff, drivers and porters, he added.

A message from the Editor:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor