SINCE coronavirus first hit Inverclyde our key workers have been a class act.

The Tele is shining a spotlight on these dedicated individuals, teaming up with long-established local business Dallas Carpets for our Nominate Your Key Worker campaign. CLAIRE AMBER YOUNG reports.

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A MENTAL health nurse has been praised as a ‘godsend’ by her husband after he nominated her to be one of the Tele's key worker heroes.

Joanne Davies, 34, works in the intensive psychiatric care unit at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and her family say they are so proud of the work she has done during the coronavirus pandemic.

The mother of two has worked with mental health patients for the past two years.

Her husband Robert, 32, said: “She’s been a godsend, I was off work for six weeks but she has worked the whole way through the pandemic.

“She’s been doing 12-hour shifts and her ward can be mentally draining so we are very proud of her and the work she does.

“Some patients can be violent or aggressive so it’s a lot to handle on top of extra stress with money worries and other things like that.

“It’s been hard when we’ve got two kids, especially when she does the nightshift.

"The kids are really proud of her.”

Robert admits he was concerned for his wife’s safety as a key worker during the Covid-19 outbreak but says Joanne loves her job and just wants to help people.

He said: “I sometimes worry about her but she’s tough as old boots and they go through all the training and stuff like that.

“When she first started everyone said she would hate it, but she did one shift and she’s never looked back.

“It’s because she’s trying to help people and trying to make a difference.

"She just really loves her job.”

Joanne, who has lived in Skelmorlie her whole life, says the coronavirus outbreak has been stressful for all of the hospital staff but it is the patients she worries about.

She said: “We’ve had patients with suspected coronavirus and had to isolate them in their rooms for two weeks.

“It was stressful for us but slightly more so for the patients, because it’s hard trying to explain to them why they can’t have visitors.

“They don’t fully understand, so it’s had quite a knock-on effect on the mental health of the patients.”

Despite it being a secure high-intensity ward, Joanne says that some procedures have changed as a result of the pandemic, with staff having to adjust to new regulations.

She said: “It was quite hard to change our procedures at the start, we had to sit outside the isolation rooms in our protective equipment for hours in case we were needed.

“We normally use aprons and gloves but it is hard doing 12-hour shifts with masks on, especially for the night shift because they are coming in two hours earlier.”

The nurse stressed that the whole team in the ward have been fantastic throughout the pandemic and says that the regular clap for key workers nights went a long way to boosting morale.

Joanne said: “Because we have been spending a lot more time together it has made us closer, if we didn’t have such a good team in the ward already it wouldn’t work.

“It lifted our spirits when everyone was out clapping on Thursday nights.

"I only managed to take part in two myself because I was at work for all the others.

Joanne says she never contemplated becoming a nurse when she was in school but after working for a care company for several years she found her calling.

She said: “I fancied a change in my life, so I gave mental health nursing a try.

"I never looked back from then on.

“I love talking to the patients and trying to get an understanding of how they are feeling, and then when they move on to an open ward it’s rewarding to see they are getting better.

“It’s just my job, it is what I chose to do and I just love it.”

Is someone in your family a care worker? Do you have a friend who works in a supermarket? Do you know a medical professional who is risking their life to help others? To show our appreciation for the hundreds of key workers helping others, we will publish their names in the paper and tell some of their inspirational stories. To nominate, visit https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/nominate-your-keyworker