Editor’s note: Campus Times staff writer and senior broadcast journalism major Charles Green returned home to London when the University closed and migrated all classes online in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Green continues to report weekly from London on stories of interest to the University of La Verne community, including the University’s global community.
Charles Green
Staff Writer
LONDON—The coronavirus pandemic has impacted our lives all around the world, but none more than the health care workers on the front line that are keeping the world as safe as it can be.
National Health Service, or NHS, nurse Hattie Moore has been working in a query at St. Thomas’ Hospital in Westminster, London, where she interacts with positive COVID-19 patients going in and out of treatment.
Daily, Moore puts herself and her family at risk but does not feel fear as she has full confidence in the personal protective equipment and resources made available to her by the NHS.
“I am personally not scared for my own health because I have always been wearing the appropriate PPE since coming in contact with COVID-19 patients. I don’t feel like I am any more at risk than I would be if I was working anywhere else,” Moore said.
Surprisingly enough, Moore described the morale among nurses and doctors as upbeat and positive, despite the difficult circumstances. She said jokes are constantly being cracked, stating that nobody would ever believe that a pandemic was occurring.
“I think when we look back at this, we will realize how traumatic this time was, but at the moment we are just taking it day by day, remaining positive, and not thinking about the effect of it all,” Moore said.
One the other side of the pond in California, Dr. Edward Digiamarino has also been in the thick and thin of dealing with COVID-19 patients. Working in the anesthesiology department at San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland, Digiamarino performs emergency procedures on patients infected with the highly infectious virus.
Like Moore, he has confidence in the PPE that he and his colleagues are wearing when in contact with positive COVID-19 patients but said it is still a daunting thought coming face to face with the deadly virus.
“Of course, it is scary to think that you could be potentially putting yourself, family and friends at risk, but we have been wearing the correct PPE, and as medical professionals, we trust in that,” Digiamarino said.
With many around the world regarding this as wartime against the invisible foe, health care workers are being put under vast amounts of pressure and stress when going about their daily business. Moore has been particularly impressed with the particular measures the NHS has been going through to offer emotional support to health care workers.
“It’s been great. We have been offered counseling and are constantly being sent well-being things, and all of us are being encouraged to talk to our line managers if needed,” Moore said.
Even though Moore does her utmost to remain positive, she does acknowledge that due to the rapid pace and day to day changing of the situation, it has been an extremely challenging time for herself and her coworkers at the NHS.
“I feel like the NHS has responded well and they are doing their utmost best to try and keep ahead of the curve, but it has been hard to adapt at such a quick pace because everything is changing all the time,” Moore said.
Digiamarino also said the hardest thing for the health care system in the U.S. is dealing with the pace that this virus spreads, and the ever-changing information they learn from hour to hour, day to day. Digiamarino believes the reason coronavirus has spread and caused so much disruption globally is due to poor communication between countries from the start, and now the cat is out of the bag.
“I think where the breakdown has been is that there hasn’t been good enough communication between the global health organizations,” Digiamarino said.
Digiamarino hopes if anything is going to come out of this, communication and relations need to improve between countries globally, especially in times of global pandemics.
“I think going forward out of this, hopefully, there will be more open conversations passing information along between global agencies and health organizations,” Digiamarino said.
Despite all healthcare workers of the world being faced with challenging circumstances, both Digiamarino and Moore say it’s a huge positive to see the way everyday people of the world have come together for the greater cause and support.
“It’s amazing to see the people really rallying together as one and listening to the regulations and advice being given,” Digiamarino said.
In the U.K., every Thursday at 8 p.m. the people of the nation applaud the care workers of the NHS for the amazing work they are doing, a moment that Moore says the entirety of the NHS appreciates deeply.
“It’s truly moving to see the people of the nation show their support for us every Thursday evening, it brings me to tears,” Moore said.
Charles Green can be reached at charles.green@laverne.edu.
