Teamwork: Conquest nursing staff celebrate the discharge of Jon McMullan after he was treated with a non invasive form of ventilation (photo: ESHT).

Patients who survived

The first patient has been discharged from Conquest’s Baird Ward following successful treatment for Covid-19 using a novel type of non-invasive ventilation. Other survivors of the virus have been discharged from East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust hospitals. Nick Terdre reports.

Jon McMullon last week became the first patient to be discharged from Baird Ward at Conquest Hospital after successful treatment by CPAP – continuous positive airway pressure, a form of non invasive ventilation.

“We are extremely proud that we have recently taken on a non-invasive ventilation (NIV) service on Baird Ward in the past year to help treat patients with types of respiratory failure,” said Mollie Taylor, sister on the ward. “All staff have undergone extra training to ensure we are competent and confident to provide this service, supported by our excellent consultants and specialist respiratory nurses.

“We had luckily trained all staff members for this prior to the Covid pandemic, as continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, which is a type of non-invasive ventilation, was found to be a form of treatment for some patients with Covid who were appropriate for it.”

The original idea of bringing NIV onto Baird Ward was to help alleviate the pressure on the critical care unit and free up critical care beds, she said.

Photo: ESHT.

Uma out

There was further good news from the Conquest when Uma Pradhan, a nurse with the East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust, was discharged after spending 23 days in the Critical Care Unit and a further week on Baird Ward. She will continue her recovery at home.

“She has had a really tough battle against Covid-19 on the Critical Care Unit and has made a remarkable recovery, given how critically ill she has been,” said Baird Ward matron Cheryl Baxter.

“It is good to see ‘one of our own’ recover and able to go home. We all wish Uma well. Her recovery gives us all real hope and inspiration during these incredibly challenging times.”

Lily discharged

In Eastbourne District Hospital 17-year-old Lily Kitcher has gone home after spending eight days in critical care and eight days on Jevington Ward being treated for Covid-19.

“All of the nurses and doctors were so lovely and so incredible,” Lily said. “They made me feel very safe in such a scary environment. I’m so grateful to them all, doing everything they could to make me as comfortable as possible, and explain as much as they could have despite a constant confusion in my mind. I really do not doubt that without their incredible care and the amazing kindness of the staff who looked after me things might have been worse.

“I don’t believe that people realise the impact of Covid-19, especially young people. Nobody is immune, and it can affect anyone. I don’t understand why, unless you need to, why you wouldn’t stay at home or follow the rules to give yourself and your loved ones a fighting chance to steer clear of this virus.”

“We are so pleased to have Lily home after a traumatic two and half weeks,” said Lily’s mum Trudi. “As a parent I can’t express how heart-wrenching it is not to see your child when they are desperately ill in hospital with Covid-19. The critical care unit were great – they gave us their direct number and we were reassured we could ring anytime day or night.

“They recognised how difficult it was for me to not be with Lily, but we were still able to text her messages of love and support as they allowed her to have her phone. As her dad is deaf, this was so important to him and we were grateful for this.

“The care she received from everyone was evident, as when I rang for updates on her progress, each member of the team was able to help. Consultants and doctors took the time to call us to explain what was happening with Lily’s treatment and to ‘check in’ with her family too.”

According to the latest information from ESHT, 65 Covid-19 patients had been discharged from trust hospitals by last week. On 27 April 56 patients confirmed to have the virus were being treated, 11 of them in critical care units. The numbers of confirmed cases were starting to level out, a spokesman told HOT.