Healthcare workers are the first line of defence
For Portia, the most rewarding part of her job is forming relationships with patients and seeing them recover and reunite with their loved ones.
Sr Portia Zimu, unit manager of the ICU at the Life Dalview Hospital, strives to make a difference in the lives of her patients, to care for them and make them better.
The 60-year-old Springs resident is just one of over an estimated million healthcare workers in South Africa on the frontline of the pandemic.
Married with two children, Portia has been in the nursing profession for 39 years, 17 of which have been at the Life Dalview Hospital.
She obtained a diploma in nursing from the Baragwanath College of Nursing and then went on to the Natalspruit College of Nursing, where she obtained a midwifery qualification.
Portia obtained her ICU qualification at the BG Alexander College of Nursing and a nephrology nursing qualification from the University of Port Elizabeth.
For Portia, the most rewarding part of her job is forming relationships with patients and seeing them recover and reunite with their loved ones.
The Herald found out more about Portia’s experiences during the pandemic
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• How do you deal with the stress of the job, especially now during the pandemic?
I pray every day and ask God for guidance. We also receive support from the hospital management team and from my supportive husband.
• Healthcare workers are bearing the brunt of the pandemic, what has your own experience been like?
This is all new to everyone, especially us health workers, but we have undergone a lot of training on how to use PPE and care for Covid-positive patients.
The company made it easy for us by providing all the educational and clinical information needed to care for patients and by providing the necessary PPE to keep ourselves and our patients safe.
• What is your typical workday like?
Busy. I get to work in the morning and pray first.
I change into PPE and then start checking all the patients and getting reports from other nurses who were on duty.
If there is anything that needs the doctor’s attention then I will call the doctor.
I also ensure there are enough staff, equipment and stock available.
• What is the hardest part of the job?
The trauma that comes with losing a patient, knowing you worked so hard to save a life. Notifying the family of the deceased and seeing their emotions.
Respiratory distress in young people who did not make it.
• You see the realities of Covid-19. What would you say to people who don’t follow the guidelines (no mask-wearing, no social distancing)?
Covid-19 is real and is not going anywhere soon.
We need to protect ourselves and those around us.
It is up to every South African to take responsibility and follow safety measures.
Patients suffer in the hospital ICU. It is selfish not to follow the Covid-19 precautionary safety rules.
• The roll-out of the vaccine to healthcare workers has started. How important is it for people to be vaccinated against Covid-19?
Healthcare workers are the first line of defence against the pandemic.
Getting vaccinated helps protect me so I can protect my family, our hospital community, my colleagues and the patients I care for.
Our group CEO Pete Wharton-Hood said, “The responsibility to protect our frontline healthcare workers rests with every one of us. Let’s play our part in making life better and vaccinate.”
And this is what I am going to do, vaccinate to protect myself and those around me.
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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Thelma Koorts (editor) brakpanherald@caxton.co.za or Stacy Slatter (news editor) stacys@caxton.co.za
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