Coronavirus Scotland: Palliative care consultant speaks of Covid pressures on Queen Elizabeth hospital

Her colleagues had warned that Fiona’s scrubs look like a walking migraine and the palliative care consultant's multicoloured outfit certainly stands out.

So too does her calm and warmth as she talks of the traumatic circumstances faced by she and her colleagues on a daily basis.

With a team of 15 people - doctors, nurse specialists, a specialist pharmacist and an advice and liaison service - Fiona is based in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital working with patients who are at the end of their lives.

READ MORE: Doctors at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital tell of the toll of coronavirus

The role involves making human to human connections with people who may be frightened or distressed, and PPE is an additional hurdle to that.

Usually the palliative care team will work with people who have terminal illnesses like cancer or others such as end stage organ failure.

Over the past 12 months, however, their case load has increasingly included patients dying from covid pneumonia, forcing a change of pace.

She said: "One of the things we've noticed has been a certain group of people who have covid.

"From the point at which they need some oxygen to the point at which they start to deteriorate, they can deteriorate and die very quickly."

The rapid effect of covid pneumonia means the team has ensured each department knows they are always available by phone or by pager so they reach people in time.

Fiona's average case load holds around 90 patients with the number of covid patients fluctuating.

In the past week, she says, her work has changed to include more covid patients as numbers in hospital rise.

Last April the case load was around 60 patients at any one time, so an increase of a third.

In a stark illustration of the seriousness of the virus, Fiona said her case load is about the same as it would have been pre-covid.

The team is not being overwhelmed because, as she puts it, covid patients "don't stay on our case load very long."

She says: "It's really sad to say.

"One of the things I have found very difficult personally is sometimes when somebody is dying quickly they can be up and with it and well and they have a lot of oxygen on and they're working hard with their breathing.

"But they're completely aware of what's happening.

"You're trying to share with them your concern that you hope they will recover but they are sick enough that they might die when they are sitting there feeling well, that's really hard for them to get.

"And often there's not time for their relative to be able to come up and spend time with them."

From the last wave to this, one of the biggest differences affecting palliative care is that the number of visitors allowed into hospital has increased.

Fiona added: "A lot of the time we were breaking bad news, really difficult news, over the phone. And that was often for people who never got the opportunity to see their loved one before they died.

"There are more visitors this time round, obviously very protected and the senior nurses on wards have been fantastic at supporting every family to make an individual decision and try to keep them safe but also having the opportunity to have their loved one there."

The palliative care team is also focussed on looking out for one another and has increased joint visiting.

Fiona said: "Having two people there to share that experience is hugely therapeutic.

"I have a great man at home who I share a lot with and he's brilliant.

"I do a lot of running, so much so that I got a stress fracture in my leg because I ran too much in August.

"I had to adapt so I'm cycling more, which is my therapy because I think I need exercise to cope."