Carolynne Butler – Assistant Theatre Practitioner at Calderdale Royal Hospital

“I work in theatre and theatre has changed – we’ve cancelled all elective surgery but we still take cancer patients and emergency sections and planned sections as obviously that can’t be put off. Cancer patients are being swabbed 48 hours before coming in for corona virus – if they have it we don’t do them. Two of our theatres have been turned in to ICU units for corona virus patients which did have patients in but we don’t have any in at the moment as they are contained within ICU, apart from recovering patients which there are quite a few on the wards. ICU have got space at the moment but they are preparing for a second peak. We are a bit like reserves – we have been taken into ICU but we are not needed at the moment, well, not me personally but some of the theatre staff are still in ICU. Morale has picked up a little bit – initially we had a lot of staff in tears because it’s an unknown and it was quite scary being at work - and the hero bit didn’t really feel like it as we didn’t want to be there if we’re honest! But it’s more relaxed now and morale is starting to pick up a little bit - we just a bit scared the lockdown has been released a bit too soon. We’re just going to have to sit out the next two weeks and see what happens.”

15.5.20