Ms Siobhán Murphy:

First, I wish to point out that I am 27 years of age with no medical, previous or underlying health conditions. I unjustifiably contracted Covid-19 in the workplace due to, as was previously said, understaffing, being completely overwhelmed with the role of the nurse, extreme burnout and overexposure to the virus. I believe I was competent in my use of PPE; we had extensive training and education on the ward from infection prevention and control in the hospital on a daily basis, as PPE did change depending on supply.

On being prepared for a second surge, as nurses we are professionals. Speaking from the perspective of my own hospital, I cannot say that any of my colleagues presented to the ward with symptoms of Covid-19. There was a very clear pathway whereby a person isolated, he or she got a swab through occupational health in work, got his or her result and subsequently was off work for 14 days if not longer. In my case, it was for 12 weeks due to symptoms. Going forward, the psychological impact of Covid-19 has been detrimental to me and to my colleagues and I am sure I can speak on behalf of the nurses of Ireland when I say that. Being given a telephone number or an app to access from home for psychological trauma, for post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, which was mentioned, is just not sufficient.

We need significant debriefing going forward. Our mortality rate was incredibly high. We as nurses work to save lives but we were fighting a losing battle at the very start of Covid-19 and we do not want to see that again. I personally do not think I can walk into a workplace that is unsafe and that is how I felt at times, even though I was provided with PPE and I was, as I said, competent with it. To me, the workplace was a hazard. I ended up in hospital for a week due to my symptoms, which escalated out of my control and I had to be monitored and investigated as an inpatient in the hospital where I work, where just a week previously I would have been standing as a nurse at the bedside providing care to dying patients who succumbed to Covid-19. It was extremely traumatising and I do not know if any nurse could overcome that with just a number or an app. More needs to be done.