Our Frontline Worker of the Week is…. Ward Maid Coleen Gregory Inniss

Nov 01, 2020 News

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“Ward maids are essential to the point that if they decide to strike for a week, nobody can work at the institution. It’s our job to ensure the place is clean after a surgery and so forth. If a patient throws up in the ward we’re the ones that gotta clean up to ensure that the hospital remains sanitized… If we don’t wanna go to work, then the hospital will give off a stench.”

By Romario Blair

Kaieteur News – Since the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, our nurses and doctors on the frontline have drawn much of our attention time, and time again. Since sanitation is a key means of helping to eradicate the coronavirus causing disease, ward maids at our nation’s hospitals play an especially vital role on the frontline, as they continue to dedicate their time and energy towards the fight against the pandemic.
Ms. Coleen Gregory Inniss for instance, is one of the many dedicated ward maids, who continues to execute her duties with efficacy, even in the face of a pandemic.
The 49-year-old, Ms. Coleen, presently works at the isolation department at the Suddie Public Hospital, which is located on the Essequibo Coast.
This ward maid, who has some eight years of experience, is responsible for a number of key duties on the frontline. As she explained, the role of a ward maid, Ms. Coleen said, “Basically we clean, the hospital, we carry up the food for the patients when it’s time for their meals, we ensure that clean linens are taken to the ward and the dirty ones are taken to the laundry. At times we assist the nurses, if they want anything from the records department we help from time to time.”
But in society, ward maids and other sanitation workers, are often looked down upon. Persons may claim that sanitation workers lack a proper education, and therefore play no essential role in a health institution. However, when asked how essential a ward maid is to a health institution, Ms. Coleen responded by saying, “nobody can function in a dirty place. It’s kind of a tough thing to go through with, but I enjoy doing it.”
She went on to say, “Ward maids are essential to the point that if they decide to strike for a week, nobody can work at the institution. It’s our job to ensure the place is clean after a surgery and so forth. If a patient throws up in the ward we’re the ones that gotta clean up to ensure that the hospital remains sanitized… If we don’t wanna go to work, then the hospital will give off a stench.”

MORE DEDICATION
Most of us will agree that life was generally simpler before the pandemic. There were so many things that we enjoyed, that we now have to forfeit in an effort to keep our lives, and the lives of our loved ones safe. For our frontline workers, it meant more dedication to their jobs. According to Ms. Coleen, the isolation department requires even more frequent rounds of cleaning and sanitization.

Ms. Coleen said that since the pandemic, her job now demands more dedication. “First we were at a quarantine area because at that time we hadn’t any positive cases in the Region. But when we got our first positive case, we moved over to the isolation area.” She continued by saying, “I usually work from Monday to Friday from 6:30 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon. Sometimes I even leave at 3:30pm, depends on if we got any additional work because at times patients may throw up and the staff there need additional help.”

GREATEST CHALLENGE
But according to Ms. Coleen, “the greatest challenge is knowing you are so close to an invisible enemy.” She said that when she first learnt that she was selected to work in the isolation department, she was initially fearful. “At first, I was fearful, because we didn’t have much knowledge about COVID-19 at that time. All we know is that it was this scary virus that was claiming lives all over the world.”
Ms. Coleen said that with the knowledge the Health Department has today, her attitude towards the virus has changed. “I’ll admit that I am still fearful but not so fearful because when dealing with quarantined patients we put on our PPE. Once we put it on the right way and take if off right, then there shouldn’t be any problem.”
She said that one aspect of the COVID-19 virus that is quite scary, is that most of its victims are asymptomatic. “So far, we never got anyone dying in the institution nor any critical patients, but most of our patients are asymptomatic. It’s the scariest part because sometimes I’m walking out on my way home and all I can do is pray because I don’t know what I may be taking home to my family,” she intimated.

Ms. Coleen said that she is mostly fearful for the safety of her family. Presently she lives at Queenstown with her husband Eon Inniss and her 15-year-old niece. She is also a mother of two boys, Nickoli and Keno Inniss.
When asked what it is like being a mother while working on the frontline, Ms. Coleen said, “It really can be stressful being a mother and working on the frontline. My husband for instance is a diabetic, sometimes when I’m alone I sit and think because sometimes you don’t know what you’re bringing home. While the virus can have a minor effect on me, it may have a deadlier effect on him.”

NEEDED SUPPORT
Despite all the challenges on the frontline, Ms. Coleen said that the support she has received from friends, family and even work mates, have been enormous. She told Kaieteur News that the team in the quarantine department has been tremendously supportive. “I get the courage from my colleagues, even though they are nurses and doctors, they still give me that support and that gives me even more courage to go to work on a daily basis because I say to myself ‘I can’t leave them in a dirty place to work…’ My medical superintendent has also been supportive because if something happens, she tries to get it sorted out within the shortest possible time.”
Ms. Coleen said that the members of her church, the House of Praise Assembly of God, has been instrumental in rendering support. “Sometimes the Pastor will call and pray with me whenever I need support, then from time to time other members will call to check up on me to see how I’m doing.
Not forgetting the support she receives from her family circle, she said, “I get support from my husband because he takes me to work. My son if I’m tired, he takes me home. My sisters will also call and ask if I’m okay because I’m the eldest. My aunt who is in Georgetown, she calls every three days. My dad also checks up to see if I’m doing ok. I have my mom, she’s blind but still puts forth the effort to find out if I’m okay…when my son drops off her food she would ask if I’m okay then I’ll call her,” Ms. Coleen shared.
For staying focused on the mission to help keep the nation safe from her post as a Ward Maid, today we at Kaieteur News recognise Ms. Coleen as our ‘Frontline Worker of the Week’.

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