LIFE WORKING ON the frontlines of Ireland’s healthcare system is not easy at the best of times, but the past year has put even more pressure on staff.

In recent days, we’ve seen how some hospitals are particularly feeling the pressure – such as in Letterkenny, where some patients were left waiting in ambulances.

Last week, we featured the thoughts of healthcare workers in an article on TheJournal.ie. For this week’s episode of The Explainer, we’ve spoken to four people working in the healthcare system.

Dr Amy Morgan is a GP in Co Louth. She speaks to presenter Sinéad O’Carroll about the challenges of trying to treat illnesses during a pandemic, while keeping herself, patients and her colleagues safe.

Mary Twomey is a contact tracer based in Cork. She initially volunteered as a contact tracer, but at the end of 2020 was hired into the role. She speaks to us about how contact tracing works, and how the system has been dealing with the huge amount of calls that needed to be made during the third wave.

Carol Cronin is a nurse in a regional hospital, who is working on the frontlines of an emergency department. She talks us through a typical day in her job, and explains how the hospital she works in is dealing with potential Covid-19 cases.  

Finally, Dr Catherine Motherway is an ICU consultant and the President of the Intensive Care Society in Ireland. She talks us through the intricacies of working in the ICU, the level and type of care her patients get, and what surge capacity means.

https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/a-gp-nurse-icu-consultant-and-contact-tracer-on-what-its-like-working-during-the-third-wave

This episode was put together by presenter Sinéad O’Carroll, producers Aoife Barry and Nicky Ryan. Guests were Mary Twomey, Dr Amy Morgan, Dr Catherine Motherway and Carol Cronin.