WHEN the NHS Nightingale North West Hospital opens in Manchester today (Monday, April 13), a Greenfield woman will be at the forefront of the major operation to provide vital care to COVID-19 patients.
Justine Theaker has been appointed chief allied health professional for the city centre field hospital which, when fully operational, will have capacity to treat around 600 coronavirus sufferers.
Already, the Saddleworth resident has worked 17-hour days, alongside NHS colleagues and military staff, helping set up the new facility to ensure patients have best chance of a full recovery.
“We won’t have any intensive care beds,” explains Justine, seconded from her ‘day job’ as a clinical academic.
“Patients coming to us will be stepped down from critical care for approximately three days and deemed safe to be transferred to us for ongoing care.
“We have to make sure the workforce we have got is skilled to be able to provide the best care because the patients are still very poorly.
“So, it is a huge training programme we need to have in place for this.
“As much as we want to make use of the resources we have at this amazing facility, from a public perspective and the socio-economic side, we don’t.
“We want it to be empty. We don’t want people coming in because that means they have had COVI-D-19, are really poorly and who have just been in critical care.”
Justine starts her vital role with a staff of six under her charge but that could escalate to around 140 if the Nightingale operates at maximum capacity.
Much has been achieved in a small space of time since the chief medical officer for the Manchester University Foundation Trust – which hosts the Nightingale – entrusted the hospital’s allied health provision to Justine.
There are 15 professions within allied health including occupational therapists, dieticians, physiotherapists, speech and language.
“You know when someone says it has been a steep learning curve, this has been a vertical launch,” admits Justine.
“When I first arrived the only thing in place was a ‘finger in the air guess’ they might need some allied health professional staff. There was nothing when I first started last Wednesday.
“So, I have been responsible for scoping the whole of the service that is expected and what patients are going to need from an allied health professional perspective.
“I had to put that in place and start building the team, staffing with volunteers on secondment from Trusts across the North West.
“We are also working with people who are re-entering the system through the Health and Care Professions Council – the governing body for allied health professionals.
“That maybe people who have retired or who are on career breaks. Or have left the NHS for whatever reason.
“They are re-registering with the HCPC so this will give us a junior level workforce to deploy into the Nightingale.
“It is a huge education programme for people returning back into practice or staff being deployed out of their usual clinical areas.”
Coronavirus has proved an indiscriminate killer whose 10,000 plus victims include healthcare professionals.
“No one goes into healthcare to put their health at risk and to put their lives at risk,” says Justine.
“If you were happy with that you would probably go into the military.
“So, you have to take a balanced, pragmatic view and try not to overthink things while making sure you practice good hand hygiene and safe practice with regard to infection prevention and control.
“When I spray the front door handle when I get back from work, I wash my hands, spray my shoes and the uniform goes straight into the washing machine on a 60 degrees cycle.
“I have very little socialisation with anyone except my husband, Dave, who is the one who shops at Tesco.
“If we walk along the towpath, we keep a two metres distance. And I keep away from everyone else to make sure I am not increasing my risk.”
Justine admits her workload prior to the coronavirus outbreak had been sufficiently challenging. But she has had to re-evaluate any desire to take a break.
The PHD she was due to finish next year has also been placed on hold together with her 50th birthday celebrations on May 1.
“With my PHD and everything else I do in my normal clinical role I was really busy and just needed to stop and take a breath,” she said.
“I just wanted to press pause on the world and get off it. But here we are now. Who would have thought that?”
The ‘Clap Our Carers’ initiative, however, has been a welcome tonic for Justine and thousands of NHS staff.
“I find it quite emotional,” she agrees. “When I left for work on my first day in his post all our neighbours came out at 7.15 am to wave me off.
“It was almost like a guard of honour, I was crying my eyes out all the way in. Any support the public gives us is most welcome.”
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