A HEALTHCARE hero has told of her pain at having to tell the families of patients with coronavirus that they couldn't visit their seriously ill loved ones as they reached the end of their fight.

Staff nurse Kirsty Reichle, 49, who works in Inverclyde Royal's emergency department, said she and her colleagues took on the role of surrogate families to support people who were fighting Covid-19.

The dedicated nurse, who lives in Port Glasgow's Castlehill Avenue, was also there for her colleagues in other departments who had to watch people say a final goodbye to their loves ones via video chat.

She heard heartbreaking stories of nurses reading emotionally-charged letters to relatives they would maybe never see again.

Kirsty said the most shocking part of life in the hospital at the height of the pandemic was seeing how quickly patients deteriorated.

She said: "It's scary how quickly it affected people.

"Patients would come in and you would be talking to them, and within two hours they were on oxygen.

"People declined very quickly and we had no opportunity to help them."

Kirsty, who has been a staff nurse in the department for six years, says there was a shift in mood almost immediately.

She said: "I just remember it was a Wednesday.

"It was chaotic at first but our consultants, manager and housekeeper put their heads together and organised all the equipment we needed so we were prepared."

With help from the team in day surgery, the emergency department was split into two, and colleagues began to deal with people with a range of different symptoms.

Kirsty said: "At the start, we weren't ready for the exact symptoms that people would come in with.

"If someone came in with a different presentation, we didn't think it was Covid, so there's potential that we were exposed to the virus before the official outbreak.

"It was really scary from that point of view.

"One of my colleagues went off with the virus, we were so worried about her and also worried about how she got it.

"We now treat every patient as if they have Covid and wear our masks, gloves and gowns."

As Kirsty was working with the team to do all she could for patients, she was faced with a worry at home.

Her dad, who is very self sufficient but unable to do some jobs around the house now, received a shielding letter.

Kirsty has to help her dad out but was scared to bring the virus home so had to try to avoid him as much as possible.

The dedicated nurse said the backing she has had from her team and from her wife Shirley has been amazing during a very difficult time.

She said: "The team are absolutely fantastic.

"They're like a family.

"We're all local and we put our heart and soul into what we do.

"We shared our fears and learned from each other.

"Everyone pulls together."

As lockdown continues to ease across Scotland, Kirsty and her colleagues are prepared for a second wave of the deadly illness and the experienced nurse has warned people not to get complacent.

Kirsty said: "It's really frustrating that people think it’s going away now.

"People don't seem to be as concerned as they were.

"I had a patient say to me that other day ‘don’t worry, that’s all away now’.

"Some of the nurses on the wards are concerned that we won’t be able to go through it again but I know we will.

"We know we have been stretched to the extreme.

"We didn't sign up for a pandemic but we've been there and have stood on our own two feet.

"We're very wary of what’s further down the line but we will support each other."

Above all else, Kirsty said a genuine empathy for patients and their families is at the heart of everything she and her colleagues do.

Kirsty said: "You do what you need to do for patients.

"We want to make patients as comfortable as possible.

"That’s why we do it - it’s all about them.

"Even during all this I wanted to go to my work.

"I wasn’t dreading it."

Kirsty, who gave an inspirational speech at a recent rally outside IRH where nurses were demonstrating calling for a pay rise, is very proud of her profession.

She told the Tele: "I have to pay £140 to the Nursing and Midwifery Council every year to do a job that I love.

"It's been the best career move I ever made.

"I wouldn’t change it for the world."