Cape Town - A hero in the nursing fraternity, sister Patricia Bailey, has shown strength, perseverance and dedication at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH).
She started her nursing career on February 1, 1990 at Nico Nursing College and has never looked back.
From mid-March last year, the lives of South Africans changed tremendously due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“At work, we were filled with fear because we didn’t know what to expect from this pandemic and how working with Covid positive patients would affect us,” said Bailey.
“Decisions had to be made about who would work in the first ward C9 admitting patients under investigation (PUI) and Covid positive patients. In April 2020, I volunteered to first work for two weeks in C9, just to get the feel of things.
’’At first, I felt very fearful and a lot of things went through my mind, but once I worked with one of the first Covid-positive patients, I settled in, and decided that should I be asked to work in C9 again, I would say yes.”
There were a lot of challenges to be dealt with she said.
”I had to make sure that as a team in C9, we worked safely. Patients and families had to be reassured as no visitors were allowed, and this caused a lot of stress for families as we had to explain why their family member was in this ward. The hardest was patients dying and no family member could be next to the bed to hold their hand,” said Bailey.
The nursing staff had to keep families up to date by phoning them and do video calls to see their loved ones.
“We were a close team working in C9 and supported one another. Another challenge was feeling a bit isolated from the other ward areas as we were on the C floor in a secluded area.
“Management was very supportive. GSH health and wellness introduced counselling sessions via Teams that we could set up for staff to discuss issues with a counsellor. Although mentally challenging, it brought a lot of positives.
’’Communication between families improved, and staff from different areas all over the hospital were working as a team for one common goal. By working away from your ward, which is your comfort zone, I realised that I’m still up for any challenge,” said Bailey.
She is currently an operational manager of the neurology ward E7 at GSH.
Bailey was born and raised in Worcester, she came to Cape Town in 1984. She grew up with her grandparents and an aunt.
“My passion for nursing started in 1988, as we had to start thinking of making a career choicem and for me to be of help to the community or at least trying to make a difference, I decided that nursing would give that to me,” she said.
“I started as a registered nurse at GSH on March 1, 1994. I had three job offers that year but decided to work at GSH. For 22 years I worked in the surgical pavilion and was groomed by the senior sisters in how to be a fully-fledged registered nurse.
’’I took a break after 26 years for one full year for various reasons, and one of them was to give quality time to my family,” said Bailey.
On March 1, 2017, she started working again at GSH as a new employee, and felt excited to be able to get a post again.
“I am a very driven, determined and hard-working person. I enjoy the simple things in life, like going to the beach, eating out, making food and hiking. As the time went on I returned to my ward, and other staff members from hearing how we experienced PUI and Covid-positive patients felt more comfortable to volunteer to go work in the area.
’’I availed myself to assist when needed to orientate staff to the areas or when the PUI and Covid-positive wards phone me for advice or assistance I’ve hesitated to give assistance, even today.
“The impact of the Covid pandemic was that we as staff could not interact the way we used to, we had to adjust. My family life suffered a lot because we couldn’t visit family and friends.
’’This made me realise it’s important to treasure everything on a daily basis and to appreciate life and health,” said Bailey.
Weekend Argus