Royal Derby worker Julie praises post-COVID care after beating virus | Latest news

Royal Derby worker Julie praises post-COVID care after beating virus

Julie and Matthew Smith

A UHDB worker says she “doesn’t know what would have happened” if it wasn’t for her husband’s intervention after suffering with Coronavirus.

Julie Smith, who has worked at the hospital for 36 years and is a receptionist on Ward 403, started feeling unwell one evening, showing signs of COVID-19 in March.

Despite being fit and well now, Julie thinks that things could have ended a lot differently if it wasn’t for the care of her husband Matthew, a Critical Care Outreach Nurse at Royal Derby Hospital.

Julie, from Spondon, said: “I went downstairs shortly after getting home and I was shivering, but when I took my temperature, it was 38.3 degrees. I also didn’t have an appetite and didn’t want to drink anything, so I called into work to say I felt ill and was symptomatic and wouldn’t be coming in the following day.”

From here, Julie’s condition worsened, which caused concern for Matthew.

Matthew said: “I kept keeping an eye on her on a regular basis and she just wasn’t getting better. Due to my background as a Critical Care Nurse, I had a few bits of equipment with me so I measured her blood oxygen levels and they kept dropping.

"It became clear at one stage that Julie needed oxygen. She looked so ill."

57-year-old mother of one Julie said that she felt “exhausted and just wanted to sleep” and reiterated this to Matthew, but his training told him that he needed to intervene.

He said: “Julie just wanted me to leave her to sleep, but I’m convinced that if I had done that, one thing would’ve led to another and she would have died.”

Julie added: “If it hadn’t been for Matthew, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me.”

From here, Julie was admitted to the Medical Assessment Unit at Royal Derby Hospital before being transferred to Ward 402, a specialist respiratory ward where she started to recover.

Despite having a number of other health conditions, including epilepsy, kidney and liver disease, Julie said that being a patient in her place of work helped to settle her nerves a little: “I wasn’t terrified to be honest, I knew I was in good hands.

“It was strange to be a patient, on the other side compared to my job, but the staff were all brilliant as was my consultant, Dr Aklak Choudhury.”

Julie Smith and her colleagues from Ward 403After four days on the ward, Julie’s condition had improved, and preparations were made for her discharge.

As with a large proportion of respiratory patients, the ImpACT+ Team then stepped in to help Julie to continue her recovery at home, discussing a continued care package as well as installing oxygen at her house.

The ImpACT+ service is a multi-disciplinary team made up of respiratory consultants, specialist nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists who offer community support and on-going care and treatment to respiratory patients in the South Derbyshire area.

Julie said: “The ImpACT+ Team were fantastic. Working on one of the respiratory wards, I thought I knew the system, but the team were just amazing.

“They gave me breathing exercises and would visit me at home as well as provide telephone check-ups, too. They were just so professional, even down to the engineer who came to fit the oxygen at home.”

Matthew was equally impressed with the ImpACT+ Team and the speed in which everything was arranged:

"Within the time that Julie was told she'd be coming home and her arriving back, the oxygen had been installed and she'd been told about what was going to happen next in terms of her care.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster for us, as I was self-isolating at home at this time, too, so the team being so efficient was brilliant.”

Julie is now back at work on her ward and said she feels great being back with her colleagues:

“I came back early after being off for five weeks as I wanted to come back in and help. I’d much rather be at work and I was determined to get back as soon as I could.

“Everyone keeps asking after me and telling me how worried they were which is really lovely to hear how much they all care.”

Robin Evans, Clinical Service Manager at ImpACT+, said: “Since the start of the COVID pandemic the service rapidly identified the new challenge of supporting patients who were recovering from COVID and being discharged from hospital, but remained severely deconditioned.

“The service re-structured to develop a Virtual Ward where patients were identified in hospital by the consultant and nurse team. Patients were reviewed the day after discharge in their own home where individualised treatment plans and support services were agreed. We also offer a telephone helpline seven days a week and further Wellbeing calls to ensure a rounded medical and psychological recovery for patients. The service has now supported more than 20 COVID patients via the Virtual Ward.

“It’s fantastic to see the patients doing so well now having been so debilitated initially. In many cases they were too breathless to carry out many of their usual activities and now they are able to walk for 30-40 minutes or go out in their car. Patients and relatives have really valued being safely discharged home quicker to continue with their treatment in their own home environment.”

Captions: 

1. (left to right) Matthew and Julie Smith

2. Julie Smith (second from left) with husband Matthew (left) and her colleagues on Ward 403 at Royal Derby Hospital

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