“Three Sides to Every Story”: Living the Patient, Carer and Staff Experience of COVID

In 2020, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) braced itself for the challenge of the COVID pandemic. Older, frail adults were among those at highest risk for morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to capture the lived experiences of patients, families/carers and staff on a COVID ward. Thirty pa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Helen Hurst, Sarah M. Ramsey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:Global Qualitative Nursing Research
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936241292737
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841526800801333248
author Helen Hurst
Sarah M. Ramsey
author_facet Helen Hurst
Sarah M. Ramsey
author_sort Helen Hurst
collection DOAJ
description In 2020, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) braced itself for the challenge of the COVID pandemic. Older, frail adults were among those at highest risk for morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to capture the lived experiences of patients, families/carers and staff on a COVID ward. Thirty participants were included, and data collected through in-depth unstructured interviews. The data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenology. Four main themes were constructed, capturing the collective experiences of the participants. The first theme, the changing and uncertain period of time, describes the shared sense of immersion in the chaotic situation, lack of control and resulting fears related to the contagion. Secondly, challenges of care, focuses on shared anxieties and guilt related to shortcomings in care delivery, and efforts to adapt to the new situation. The third theme, communication and keeping in touch, details the effect restrictions had on efforts to maintain contact and its toll on mental health. The last theme of challenging situations in end-of-life care, reflects experiences of grief and loss shared by all three participant groups. This study adds to the growing evidence base around experiences of the COVID pandemic through exploration of the profound triangulated experience of all participants.
format Article
id doaj-art-61e59f1ff244466cbf897bde6fc3a3ee
institution Kabale University
issn 2333-3936
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Global Qualitative Nursing Research
spelling doaj-art-61e59f1ff244466cbf897bde6fc3a3ee2025-01-16T11:03:19ZengSAGE PublishingGlobal Qualitative Nursing Research2333-39362025-01-011210.1177/23333936241292737“Three Sides to Every Story”: Living the Patient, Carer and Staff Experience of COVIDHelen Hurst0Sarah M. Ramsey1University of Salford, Salford, United KingdomManchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United KingdomIn 2020, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) braced itself for the challenge of the COVID pandemic. Older, frail adults were among those at highest risk for morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to capture the lived experiences of patients, families/carers and staff on a COVID ward. Thirty participants were included, and data collected through in-depth unstructured interviews. The data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenology. Four main themes were constructed, capturing the collective experiences of the participants. The first theme, the changing and uncertain period of time, describes the shared sense of immersion in the chaotic situation, lack of control and resulting fears related to the contagion. Secondly, challenges of care, focuses on shared anxieties and guilt related to shortcomings in care delivery, and efforts to adapt to the new situation. The third theme, communication and keeping in touch, details the effect restrictions had on efforts to maintain contact and its toll on mental health. The last theme of challenging situations in end-of-life care, reflects experiences of grief and loss shared by all three participant groups. This study adds to the growing evidence base around experiences of the COVID pandemic through exploration of the profound triangulated experience of all participants.https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936241292737
spellingShingle Helen Hurst
Sarah M. Ramsey
“Three Sides to Every Story”: Living the Patient, Carer and Staff Experience of COVID
Global Qualitative Nursing Research
title “Three Sides to Every Story”: Living the Patient, Carer and Staff Experience of COVID
title_full “Three Sides to Every Story”: Living the Patient, Carer and Staff Experience of COVID
title_fullStr “Three Sides to Every Story”: Living the Patient, Carer and Staff Experience of COVID
title_full_unstemmed “Three Sides to Every Story”: Living the Patient, Carer and Staff Experience of COVID
title_short “Three Sides to Every Story”: Living the Patient, Carer and Staff Experience of COVID
title_sort three sides to every story living the patient carer and staff experience of covid
url https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936241292737
work_keys_str_mv AT helenhurst threesidestoeverystorylivingthepatientcarerandstaffexperienceofcovid
AT sarahmramsey threesidestoeverystorylivingthepatientcarerandstaffexperienceofcovid