I Failed My Fit Test

Apparently my face is too small, so none of the masks I was fit tested with made a tight enough seal around it, and this is slightly worrying.

For anyone who doesn’t know what I’m talking about, a fit test is done to check that masks worn by healthcare staff in hospital fit properly, to make sure that they’re fully protected from infected patients. It involves being tried with masks and different things being sprayed in the air, so you fail if you can smell/taste them, because that means your mask isn’t tight/secure enough.

I didn’t even get to the spray part of the test because all the masks were too big #peak

So what does this mean? At the moment I have two options:

1. Be tested with another mask a.k.a ‘The Hood’ – these are more secure but expensive though, and there’s been supply/funding issues with securing these nationwide, so we’re not sure when they will come.
2. Be moved to work in a ‘lower risk’ ward to avoid contact with COVID-19 patients.

Really hoping we get more of those masks, because I really really don’t want to get moved. I know it would make you feel better, mum, but I love my team and I love working in Respiratory, so it would suck to leave them for another ward.

In other news, a quick rant on the importance of social distancing:

Seeing people on social media still going out unnecessarily has been frustrating and quite concerning. Hopefully this will become less of a thing with the Government closing things down today, but I can’t stress enough how vital it is to stay at home if you can. I understand that not everyone has the privilege to be able to work from home, and that there are many key workers who need to still go out, but if you can, STAY AT HOME.

“Why?” you ask- “If I’m young and healthy, surely I’ll be fine” is what a lot of people must be thinking right now, and yes, COVID-19 will most probably not affect you severely if you do get it, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance it could, because it could be you or someone you love requiring ventilation to help you breath. We’ve heard scary rumours of F1 and ICU doctors in London dying, and new data is showing that more and more young people are getting really ill with it, so please take this more seriously.

You see, the aim of social distancing is to reduce the number of people who get infected, because that will reduce the burden on the healthcare service, and make more ICU beds and ventilators available for the people who get really sick. Because if you require ventilation to help you breathe and can’t get it, chances of survival are very slim.

Some numbers to drum this in a bit more:

• There are about 3000 ICU beds with ventilator capacity in the whole of the UK.
• My hospital, one of the biggest in my area, has around 30 ICU beds.
• My ward is a specialist Respiratory ward, and we have 6 ventilators. SIX.
• My hospital’s mortuary has been told to expect at least 4000 additional bodies.

I’ve accepted the fact that I will probably not see my family and friends at home for a long time, because I need to stay away from them to make sure I don’t infect them and vice versa. Many of my colleagues have said their goodbyes to their parents and families and moved closer to the hospital, because they know social distancing is one of the best ways to reduce the impact of COVID-19.

So, PLEASE, be a bit more considerate and just stay at home.

I’ll conclude with something uplifting: feeling so grateful to all the restaurants and stores showing support for NHS staff with free food, drinks and discounts at the moment. It really does feel like the whole country is rooting for the NHS right now, and it’s really heartwarming.