A Nurse's Story: My Life in A&E in the Covid Crisis

by Louise Curtis

In the midst of the worst global health crisis in recent memory, those working in the NHS have been celebrated as heroes. But what does it mean to have to go to work in such challenging times?

Newly qualified as an advanced clinical physician, thirty-two year old Louise Curtis was very much looking forward to going back to work in A&E in her Midlands hospital. What she did not expect was to be confronted with the most horrific frontline scenario a nurse could ever imagine. Moved into a newly created Intensive Care Unit for Covid patients, Louise was brought face to face with death and suffering on an unimaginable scale.

A Nurse's Story is the nail-biting story of what she found there, how she tried to cope with it and the price she has had to pay for doing so. It is a heartbreaking and heartwarming account of what NHS staff are going through on a daily basis. It is a story of tears, bravery, self-sacrifice but also of hope and great kindness, of people pulling together and triumphing against daunting odds.

Genres: Nonfiction, Medical, Memoir, Medicine, Audiobook, Health Care, Science

320 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite an interesting story from an advanced clinical practitioner (nurse) who acts like a junior/mid-range doctor in A&E, not like a nurse carrying out care. Several things I didn't know about hospitals during the main Covid crisis were that the constant complaint (at least in tv documentaries!) of no beds being available, and long wait times disappeared. It was too dangerous to keep suspected Covid cases sitting with other people so triage, diagnosis and an isolation bed were quickly available.

I also learned that due to GPs not wanting to see people face-to-face but rather do consulations online, that many people who really felt they needed to be examined in person were turning up at A&E which was not just inappropriate but putting themselves at greater risk of Covid by leaving lockdown and mixing with definitely sick patients.

Doctors in the UK are now planning industrial action so that they can continue to do online consulations and not have to go back to the exertion of actually examining people, feeling lumps, looking into throats, using a stethoscope, or any of those things that require more than self-description. This bad attitude is causing immense problems for almost everyone.

The doctors' surgery phones ring forever and are then cut off, actually getting through to a receptionist can take many phone calls and a couple of hours. Then there are a lot of people who really aren't familiar with the internet and may not have a computer, only a phone. These people, often the most elderly, are the ones who use doctors' services the most.

So this puts pressure on the hospitals, because it is no good having a doctor tell you on the phone that you should have the lump examined and there is an appointment slot two weeks hence. Or the ankle doesn't sound as if it were broken, take two .... and rest.... Or or or. This is is the bad part of National Health care which the whole world seems to think is free medical care but is not, everyone pays from their wages, it's just free at point of need. If it was the American system (god forbid! All civilized countries now, I think, have National Health schemes except the US) then a doctor would certainly see you because he's getting money. The NH doctors are getting even if they don't get out of bed that day (and maybe do their consulations from there).

Covid will become part of our lives, it won't disappear but effective vaccines, probably combined with a flu shot, and treatments will be found. Medical professionals like the author will be sincerely glad not to have to wear suffocating and hot PPE, and life will get back to normal. But unless doctors go back to seeing patients then A&E will become worse than it ever was with wait times not of a few hours, but double that or more.

I liked the book, I liked the author, it was a good read, 3.5 star rounded up to 4.
____________________

Notes on Reading I had to be in the hospital this afternoon for my eyes and I knew I would have drops that made reading impossible so I got this. It's started off quite well. She's an advanced nurse practitioner, like a junior doctor she says, so it's not quite the nursing angle I had thought.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

**BOOK WARNING📚**

This isn’t my average Good reads post but it’s one you need to read in my opinion🤓

4 days ago I started reading this book , and what a great book it has been. Not only have I got such a better understanding/ insight of what it is like to work in an A&E environment but also to undergo your every day “ Broken bones & Cuts and bruises” but to also be able to get more of an insight on what our NHS as the frontline staff that have faced this monster we call “Coronavirus”

This book needs to be recognised by everyone whether you read or not, never in my life did I anticipate what I was going to read during this book , and it’s just from one persons perspective!

I just want to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all of our NHS staff for the efforts you have made , the 60 hour weeks you’ve all no doubt been pulling & the mental health impacts you’ve had to face during the past year.

I for one am so thankful to know we have our NHS hero’s out there.

Everyone please please read this book, it might just make you realise that wearing a mask to the shop is nothing compared to the conditions our NHS have had to / still are facing on a daily basis🌈

[Claire Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this book but it was just all over the place. Jumping back and forth from the current to the past. It really didn’t do what it said on the tin. A disappointing read.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an eye opening look into the world of a nurse and the NHS during the covid pandemic.

We all saw so many headlines about what was happening in the world and in the NHS during the pandemic but it was really eye opening reading it from someone who actually worked on the front line.

I learnt a lot from this book. I didn't really know much about how A&E and hospitals changed how they worked during the pandemic, but in this memoir Louise goes into great detail.

Louise also documents the ridiculous and bizarre reasons she has encountered people coming into A&E for, despite the pandemic something which isn't unfamiliar to people who read a lot of medical memoirs.

Even though this book is funny and heart warming at times, it's also very sad and distressing. There were some really tragic cases Louise had to deal with which really brings home how difficult their jobs are.

I think Louise gets the balance right in this book between the heart breaking and the heart warming.

Overall, this book is a very insightful and eye opening look at life in the NHS during a pandemic which makes you value your NHS staff greatly.

TW: real life accounts of death, illness, suicide, self harm, mental illness, domestic abuse and abuse

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love medical memories but gosh I wish they could write better. Such important stories to share, but in desperate need of a good editor.

[Lainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow xxx

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy 5 star, loved this. It was funny, informative, emotional and showed some of the things the NHS went through during the pandemic, including the effects it had on patients and staff. Effortlessly written.

[rina dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always wary about reading books that are about or involve covid especially when we are still very much involved in it but I do love a medical non fiction and A Nurse's Story didn't disappoint.
I feel like most people the NHS are definitely our front line heroes but reading this book gave me such a great insight and a better understanding of what its actually like working in a hospital during a pandemic.
Yes dealing with covid patients but the every day broken bones and cuts and scrapes too.
Louise Curtis writes with such warmth and compassion and its clear to see she is making such a huge difference as are all the people who work in hospitals.
Having been a patient of the NHS recently I honestly can't applaud these guys enough.
I think its easy to take for granted how stressful working on a ward and dealing with a pandemic is and Louise really highlights that in A Nurse's Story.
This is their reality and actually they deserve all the credit. I would definitely recommend this book its fascinating and insightful without being too taxing mentally. I feel like we have started saying it more but just to say thank you to the NHS for everything you do and have done. You truly are heroes.

[Abbie Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book has touched upon so many things healthcare workers have lived with/experienced in the last year many of which the media ignores or the public doesn't believe. For once I've felt HEARD.

[rosa :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly eye-opening and insightful read

[Cheryl Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enlightening read that sheds some light onto the lives of A&E nurses and NHS staff working on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic. I can hardly imagine how tough it must be having to don full PPE during those insanely long working hours and in such fast-paced environments, alongside having to deal with the anxieties and risks of spreading the virus to their loved ones back home. We should all be immensely grateful for all the healthcare professionals who continue facing the uncertainties brought about by the pandemic head-on amidst such challenging times.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very poorly written and edited.

Nurses and indeed everyone who works in accident & emergency medicine are amazing and I have nothing but respect for them, however - I found this particular Nurse's story extremely preachy and a bit too 'holier than thou' for me to stomach - It had me eyerolling the narrator on many occasions.

None of the medical opinions offered throughout this book are substantiated. In one instance, this nurse complains about not being taken as seriously as a doctor But...with all due respect - Louise is not a doctor. The story is messy and doesn't know whether it wants to be a personal memoir or a record of how the government and the NHS handled Covid-19. It also feels like this book may have been published quickly to cash in on the pandemic as a lot of the restrictions were still in place at the conclusion of the book.

[Lauren Austin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Monotonous writing style, half-baked opinions and inferences and evidently rushed out the make money off the COVID wave. I’ve read similar expository NHS memoirs and this was, by far, the worst.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you’d guess by the title, this covers the experiences of a nurse - in fact an Advanced Clinical Practitioner - as the covid-19 pandemic takes the world by storm.

It’s a good read that emphasises the stress that NHS workers were…& indeed still are…under. Things seem to jump about a bit at times with some anecdotes tailing off, in particular some of the stories about patients seemed to be left unresolved. However, as Louise herself says she isn’t always able to follow up on what happens to a patient once they move on from her care.

There were quite a few points that resonated with me, in particular the frustration that Louise felt with people who seemed to have no comprehension of how they should behave during a pandemic. Are they simply ignorant of how viruses spread (do they not watch the news?!) or do they believe that the lockdown rules don’t apply to them? Even more unforgiveable – to my mind anyway – is the fact that some of her colleagues families ignored the rules: "It was soul-destroying for a nurse who had just spent twelve hours looking after Covid patients to come home to their own families disobeying the rules."

The pandemic meant some people delayed getting medical assistance, being too frightened of catching covid in hospital but on the other hand there were those who wanted to be admitted, convinced that if they had covid they must need hospitalisation. Is it any wonder that nurses like Louise were at the end of their tether?

Accidents & other illnesses don’t stop just because covid is raging. The patience of a saint is surely needed to deal with A & E at any time, never mind during a pandemic. Abuse & attacks seem part & parcel of the job. There’s people who really shouldn’t be wasting a nurse’s time (such as the man who went to A & E because his antibiotics weren’t working a couple of hours after starting them) as well as the "regulars", victims of domestic abuse or the mentally ill for whom Covid brings a whole new set of problems, so sad…..

Overall, it’s an interesting account of one nurse’s life in the first six months of 2020.The book ends before “Super Saturday” aka July 4th, the day everything was due to re-open. Now, a year later, I’d be interested in a follow up to see how the vaccination programme & the lifting of restrictions has impacted on hospital workers.

[Erica Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in a day and found it absolutely gripping.

It’s been particularly interesting to read about life in an A&E at the start of the pandemic just after the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have been fined for partying illegally at this time. How angry must Louise and her colleagues be?

I read Petra X’s review which turned into a big rant about GPs and wanted to comment but couldn’t because we aren’t “friends”. There’s a GP shortage and demand for services have increased hugely since the pandemic started. So the number of patients per GP has increased. They are working very long hours and leaving the profession due to burn out. Telephone and video appointments save time and are more efficient when a patient doesn’t have to be physically examined. If you don’t believe me, Google “GP shortages” and see the data. The BMA and Sky News websites have good information.

The UK has the second lowest number of doctors in leading European nations relative to its population, according to research for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

With 2.8 doctors per 1,000 people, compared with an average of 3.5 doctors across the OECD, the UK shortage is second only to Poland.

[Marilyn Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed this book and the story was touching in some places. Not the best Medical book I’ve read though.
The stress on the NHS staff was definitely shown in this book which really makes you think and appreciate more.

[Novelle Novels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing but emotional book reminding of us of some of the worst our world has been but the true saviours that were our frontline workers. The nurses were a massive part of those that put their lives at risk to save others.

[Tamara Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran out of books so borrowed this off my sister and I was worried it would be outdated now but it wasn’t at all. So many sad and heartwarming stories that make you realise how lucky we are to have the NHS and doctors/nurses that care so much❤️

[Rebecca Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really insightful! A quick read.

[Liz Cater · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think everyone should read this to understand what our NHS staff have to go through.

[Lara Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at A&E in the UK from the perspective of an advanced nurse practitioner during the COVID lock-down. Overall, while interesting I felt the book focussed too much on the authors life and family rellationships and I would have liked to see more discussion of working with patients, the storries fears and challenges of dealing with a new condition and how reassurance is given in a busy A&e department without family members. I would also be interested in what changes were made in the pandemic and the changes they would like to see going forward.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook of this and the author (Louise) did a really good job of the narration.
I would definitely recommend this book. It was very interesting learning about how the hospitals dealt with the early stages of the pandemic, while always keeping the human aspect at the core of each chapter. It was honest, without sugar coating, but didn’t feel gratuitous either.

It was a little nerve wracking to listen to this in March 2021, knowing that the NHS had so much more to cope with in the months after this book was written. I would definitely read a follow up it it was ever made.

[Asa · Rating 5 out of 5]

While preparing for my nursing interview, I picked up this book alongside a couple of others, and it provided real and gripping memories of the former patients that Curtis treated. It was a good talking point for my interview, and in the end, it was successful! It shares some of the struggles that come with being a nurse, with some minor and some severe. However, Curtis also reflects on some positives to show what nurses work for: to make a difference. I hope one day to be in her position and tell my own stories, respecting patient confidentiality, of course!

[Lewis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Though I salute the medical staff for their courage, contribution and professionalism during this pandemic time, this book could be written in another way to demonstrate the fear and confusion everyone was facing in lives.

[Deirdre · Rating 1 out of 5]

Writing about someone else's lived experiences felt like trying to get a buzz out of second hand smoke. Could have been so interesting but became insufferable

[Marieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This book covered the period from roughly December 2019 to July 2020, with some flashbacks showing the author's road into medicine. Of course, the pandemic did not finish in July 2020 and some of the messages therefore come off with a lot of dramatic irony, unintentional of course but does make you think even more about the impact of the December/January peak.

I liked how this book looked at the way Covid-19 transformed A&E and regular medicine, especially on the personal front of the people working in those services. It's not just a matter of suddenly having more patients with Covid and fewer patients with other complaints, there is a whole host of "side effects" as a result of this change in patient makeup, the disease itself, and a different working environment. Across the patients and health practitioners, this can include any combination of increase in mental illness, domestic abuse, suicide, burnouts, feeling isolated, stressful working conditions, and more.

This also applies to the patients, who are also suddenly in a situation they had never expected. I especially appreciated the emphasis on the dissonance between the way the general public behaved and what the scenes were in A&E, plus the emphasis on lack in clear government guidance most of the time.

The author's voice lends itself well to the material and it was interesting to see how she adapted to working in medicine and especially A&E, where you truly meet all types of people. Even so, this is not necessarily the best health memoir I've ever read (that would be The Secret Midwife), possibly as a result of having it published during the pandemic and the faster timeline associated with that, but it's still an important read.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Covering December 19- July 20 this book outlines the unfolding of covid 19 in an emergency ward and also in the authors outside life. The book explains the toll not just the pandemic, but nursing life in general takes on those who work in this industry, Detailing the abuse from the public, and the overwork on the wards. The author wrote a lot about her personal life in lockdown outside of work and not being able to see her family. Her fears of catching or transmitting the virus were high and her understanding of people who just wished to live a little bit was absent. While she was frustrated they weren’t following rules, she could have at least understood why they were behaving that way, after all they weren’t rushed off their feet at work like she was. (Human nature, understanding/accepting of risk, mental health) yet in chapter 10 she speaks of the mental health crisis which started to take over the A&E after three months of lockdowns, this replaces the initial wave of covid cases which had petered out by end of May. I wanted to read the book because I wanted to understand different positions and experiences on covid.

[Seren · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a student nurse who did not work during covid but experienced covid, this is an absolutely brilliant book. A lot of stories that hit close to home and expanded on my knowledge of the nursing field massively, it also acted as a bit of revision as some topics mentioned casually are some stuff i am studying.

Even if you aren’t a student nurse however, I think you’ll enjoy this book if you just want some insight on the nursing field and some healthcare stories.
I dont often read non-fiction, but this book was very simple and easy to read (i often find non-fiction is unnecessarily complicated) and even if you have no medical/nursing knowledge, its laid out in a very nice way that makes reading this book a breeze

[Sarah Bradbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stark reminder of how amazing our NHS staff are.

A truly fascinating insight into the day to day running of A&E both in the run-up to Covid and during the crisis. This book is a stark reminder of how amazing our NHS staff really are. The writer doesn't hold back on details, which at times can be quite graphic and not an easy read, but the information is vital to understanding the immense pressure the doctors and nursing staff go through daily. I've always felt immensely grateful for the NHS, but since the Covid crisis I cannot find the words to describe my appreciation. Amazing book, everyone should read it.