‘No joke’: The reality of working in a Sydney Covid ICU

A Sydney nurse has revealed what it’s really like inside a Covid-19 ICU, while taking aim at key mistakes Aussies are making.

Nurses and doctors inside an Australian Covid-19 ward, with a similar set-up to Meg’s. Picture: David Caird

With one death, 52 people hospitalised and 15 people in the ICU, including five requiring ventilation, Sydney is grappling with its worst Covid-19 outbreak in more than a year.

There have now been 566 locally acquired cases since June 16, when the first case in the Bondi cluster was reported, and concerns are growing amid calls for further restrictions to try to halt the spread.

However, not everyone is taking the threat seriously with reports of Sydneysiders failing to wear masks, and group gatherings being busted across the state.

Police have issued 106 infringement notices across NSW for breaches of the public health order, including an 18th birthday party and a group of 15 elderly men playing cards.

Tired of people doing the wrong thing, Sydney nurse Meg Johnson has taken to Facebook to share the reality of what it’s like being inside a covid ICU, a gut wrenching battle fought behind closed doors.

“After surviving the first wave last year – being separated from our friends and families – and wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) for up to 13 hours a day we’ve been asked to step up again … A lot of us turned up to work and our unit went back in to lockdown.”

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Staff at Royal Melbourne Hospital ICU and Covid wards wear similar PPE that Meg does in her Sydney hospital. Picture: David Caird

She issued a passionate plea for Australians to take the situation seriously.

“Covid is not something to joke about,” Meg cautioned.

“Every day I go in to work watching people struggle to breathe. Assisting in putting patients on life support and hoping they survive your shift. This is not a joke.

“This is only the beginning for us.”

Meg revealed that she and her colleagues face more dangers than just the risk of contracting Covid-19, including having to deal with patients becoming violent.

“If you want to know how quickly and severely it can make you sick – within a 12 hour shift a patient can go from alert and laughing with you to being so severely hypoxic they can’t remember who or where they are.

“Sometimes even become violent. My colleagues and I are putting ourselves at risk taking care of these patients every day.”

Outbreak total:

6/7 ... 164
7/7 ... 178
8/7 ... 198
9/7 ... 225
10/7 ... 262
11/7 ... 304

14-day total:

6/7 ... 154
7/7 ... 156
8/7 ... 173
9/7 ... 191
10/7 ... 216
11/7 ... 239

*Doesn't include those under investigation at time of presser pic.twitter.com/iysr8o3LBw

— Juliette O'Brien (@juliette_io) July 11, 2021

She urged Australians to do all they can to fight the virus.

“If people don’t start doing the right thing by staying at home and being vaccinated it will only get worse,” she said.

“Come and take a walk in our shoes. It’s not something to joke about.”

RELATED:Calls for tougher covid restrictions to halt Sydney outbreak

Patients suffering from Covid-19 in the ICU of the San Roque Hospital in Argentina. Picture: AFP

Her post has also been shared on Twitter, where it has been liked more than 1500 times. A fellow healthcare worker agreed with Meg’s viewpoint, writing in a comment on her Facebook post: “I can relate. I don’t understand that some of our fellow citizens don’t want to follow the guidelines.

“I’m on the frontline too. After expecting my patient to get discharged home in the morning and ending up in ICU in the afternoon. No medical history. I had to go to the staffroom and cry.

“Thinking about these poor families that suffer. It can happen to all of us.

“This wave is definitely different.”

ICU staff at RPA hospital treat Covid-19 patients, in similar PPE that Meg wears. Picture Rohan Kelly