Coronavirus How the head of nursing experienced the days with patient number one
She was right in the middle of the pandemic outbreak in Switzerland: Head of Nursing Maria Pia Pollizzi at the Clinica Moncucco in Lugano.
Image: Keystone
The second wave was more difficult for her team than the first: Maria Pia Pollizzi, Head of Nursing at the Clinica Moncucco in Lugano.
Image: Keystone
She was right in the middle of the pandemic outbreak in Switzerland: Head of Nursing Maria Pia Pollizzi at the Clinica Moncucco in Lugano.
Image: Keystone
The second wave was more difficult for her team than the first: Maria Pia Pollizzi, Head of Nursing at the Clinica Moncucco in Lugano.
Image: Keystone
She was in the thick of it when Switzerland's first coronavirus patient came to hospital: Maria Pia Pollizzi, Head of Nursing at the Moncucco Clinic in Lugano. In an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency, she recalls the first days of the pandemic.
A "flood of information" hit her team in the first hours and days, Maria Pia Pollizzi recalls in an interview with Keystone-SDA. "It was like a tsunami that overwhelmed us."
Filtering out the most important things from the constantly changing facts and then translating them into concrete measures was the biggest challenge of those days. The uncertainty regarding the protective measures also weighed on them: "We asked ourselves every day whether the FFP2 masks would be enough."
She worked through the first 20 days of the pandemic, says the 52-year-old with a watchful eye. Pollizzi actually coordinates the interventions in the intensive care unit and is responsible for various sensitive areas; at least some of her work takes place in the office. Not so in the period after February 25, 2020: "During the pandemic, I did all sorts of things, I was in the intensive care unit most of the time and looked after patients," she says.
Hotels for cross-border commuters
Within a very short space of time, they had "radically rebuilt" the ward, turning the original seven places in the intensive care unit into 40. The emergency department was also reorganized. There were now two entrances: one for potential Covid patients and one for all other emergencies.
During the first few days, her team worked with a queasy feeling, says Pollizzi. The borders had been closed in nearby Italy and the hospital feared that it would not be able to keep the staff, some of whom were of Italian origin. The hospital management therefore organized two hotels as accommodation for the Italian staff, says Pollizzi.
Many processes were not yet optimal in those first few days, they improvised and looked for solutions, but the adrenaline always drove them forward, she recalls.
They had to wait 72 hours for the test result of the first confirmed coronavirus patient in Switzerland, as only a laboratory in Geneva was able to evaluate coronavirus tests. The tests were transported to French-speaking Switzerland in a special cab, taking at least four and a half hours from Lugano.
An apple tree as thanks
Despite all the adversity, the "spirito" of her team was good during the first wave of coronavirus, says Pollizzi. Self-help groups were set up to support the employees, and a relaxation room offered exhausted employees a short period of rest. A strong sense of trust grew between the clinic management and employees during this time. This has remained the case to this day, says the head of the nursing service.
And alongside all the stressful situations, there were also hopeful moments. A young man who had a difficult course and was in intensive care for two weeks gave the team an apple tree after his recovery. It now stands in the hospital garden.
What should be done better in a new pandemic? It is difficult to define strategies in a vacuum, says Pollizzi. Most processes need to be improved right now and on the spot. There certainly shouldn't be a shortage of materials like there was with the masks.
The care expert sees a need for action in schools: "We need better education in the field of health." It is important that young people understand exactly what "flu" means and that wearing a mask can protect other people - even outside of a pandemic.
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