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This spring, the Norwegian Nurses Association conducted a survey among its members. It turned out that about 60 percent were afraid of getting infected.
About 80 percent responded that they were afraid of infecting other patients.
Eight months after the pandemic and well into the second wave, fear among nurses is different from this spring, but it is still very real. union leader Lill Sverresdatter Larsen at the Norwegian Nurses Association tells TV 2.
– Studies show that nurses have a higher degree of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder, journal.anm) symptoms than the rest of the general population. The research estimates that it is precisely the fear of the virus, the capacity of the health service, the future and the stress they face, says Sverresdatter Larsen.
– Huge load
This spring, the fear was based on the fact that little was known about the virus, the route of infection and how to protect oneself. Now, however, the malaise has changed.
– We know much more and nurses are better protected in terms of infection control teams. Now there is concern about how the infection can spread, says the union leader.
FEAR: The leader of the Norwegian Nurses Association, Lill Sverresdatter Larsen, talks about the great fear of spreading the infection to elderly and frail patients. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen
And precisely this fear has come true in several Norwegian nursing homes in recent weeks.
At the Villa Skaar nursing home in Eidsvoll, all residents have been diagnosed with covid-19. So far, nine residents have lost their lives.
– It’s a huge burden on employees. These are patients they are concerned about, says Sverresdatter Larsen, adding:
– The real fear of spreading the infection to elderly and frail patients, does something with the nurses.
“Total chaos”
In a text message sent to Lill Sverresdatter Larsen of the Norwegian Nurses Association, one person describes conditions in a nursing home that is currently experiencing a major outbreak among employees and residents.
Permission has been granted to TV 2 to reproduce portions of the content.
“It’s total chaos. The next day when he got to work, he found a patient who had not been seen or cared for since dinner the day before, lying on her own stool, without a duvet all night. Several residents with illness coronaria shout from their respective rooms where they are locked up twenty-four hours a day, ”the message said.
Sverresdatter Larsen says this shows a very concrete example of how parts of the health service cannot function properly or provide humanitarian aid in crisis like the current one.
– It is the fear that we all have, which makes it so clear to us in the Norwegian Nurses Association that most people must comply with the infection control rules, and thus reduce the pressure on health services. It’s not the case that nurses are lining up to take over work tasks when someone gets sick – they don’t exist, he says.
– The panic came in a telling way
Christiane Wüllner is 62 years old and works as a nurse at St. Olav Hospital in Trondheim. Some time ago, he woke up with a sore throat during a motorhome trip in Røros.
In a reader post on Adresseavisen, the 62-year-old tells of the panic that later spread through his body.
FEAR: Christiane Wüllner is a nurse at St. Olavs in Trondheim, and she felt panic spread when she suspected she was infected with covid-19. Photo: Heidi Venæs / TV 2
“The panic came revealingly when, slowly but surely, I realized the consequences of my cold. Because until proven otherwise, it is the crown,” Wüllner writes in the post.
The nurse tells TV 2 that she reflected and maximized the seizures before she was allowed to take the test.
– I work in a place where I meet up to 40 patients a day, several times a week. So I was terrified and thought: What have I started now?
– Clean wash
Wüllner also says that the fear of infecting patients is something that largely characterizes everyday life.
– I’m afraid of infecting others because of the crazy consequences it entails, he says.
When Wüllner waited for the test result, he could hardly sleep. The feeling you got when the sample was negative is difficult to describe.
– I felt clean, and did not make a hell for those around me. I just walked around the store and smiled, went back to work and started over, says the nurse.
– Even worse
Arne Holte is emeritus professor of health psychology and former deputy director of the National Institute of Public Health.
He tells TV 2 that healthcare workers in particular are exposed to these fears.
– With the enormous attention that is around it, and the fact that you can get infected without being conscious are factors that come into play. Every human being with a conscience will experience the feeling that he has inflicted something like this on other people, he says, adding:
– If you work with the sick, elderly or others in the risk group, the experience is even worse because you easily want to blame yourself.
But for the general population, the psychologist says that it can be unhealthy to be afraid of getting infected.
– It guarantees that we don’t do all the stupid things that we would do otherwise. Feeling anxious is within normal reactions and helps us stay healthy. Korona is dangerous and it is very wise to be afraid of her, says Holte.
