‘I reassure people with my voice’
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Just before the corona crisis, Danique van der Wal (22) had started her own modeling business. Now she is in the test street in Amersfoort and Veenendaal.
“All my jobs were gone. First I cleaned ambulances for six months in which corona patients were transported, but that got boring. My mother saw a vacancy for tester and said, ‘Is that something?”
The first time it was crazy to put a cotton swab in someone’s cavities. But I have a medical background, studied nursing for 1.5 years, and it’s not difficult: looking at it is more than doing it yourself. It is hard work in the carriage shed where we carry out the tests. In the summer I felt sweat gushing all over. Now, in the fall, those gloves, apron and mouth mask are nice and warm. ”
‘Totally different from modeling’
“This work is completely different from modeling. It is about your appearance, here I am completely wrapped up and nobody sees me. You have to do everything with your voice and eyes.
There is a lot of criticism of the GGD. People get impatient, want their results quickly. I think this hatred is a shame and not fair: everyone here works so hard. And the situation is completely new, there is nothing we can do about it. Fortunately, we also receive sufficient appreciation. One woman said, “You are heroes of care too.” I think that’s sweet, but unnecessary. It’s a normal job for me now. As long as this work is needed, I will keep doing it. “
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‘You see loneliness in someone’s eyes’
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Because almost all planes are on the ground, flight attendant Nanni Jansen (44) is now taking corona tests in Vianen. She also visits people’s homes who cannot come to the testing site due to their age or health.
“I have been working as a ground stewardess for 21 years. It is all about friendliness, gaining confidence, getting rid of people in a very short time. I am now doing the same at the GGD region of Utrecht, but not in a blue suit, but a blue protective suit.
I often visit healthcare facilities, the Salvation Army – people who can’t get to the test streets. I think it’s exciting what’s going on behind that front door. Some people are very unhappy, sick, or lonely. For example, someone who will die quickly and is waiting for a negative test result so that he can go to hospice. It shows that what we do is important, but also difficult at times. “
‘No time for coffee’
“What I learned: you immediately see loneliness in someone’s eyes. They are sad. Those people are already so happy to hear your voice.” You are the only one I see today, I often hear. many cups of coffee have to decline, because it is not allowed, but also because there is no time.
As soon as I take the test, I rush to my colleague in the hallway, who is stowing the cotton swabs. And then you can hear someone talking from the living room, shouting, “Ma’am, I have to go!” Yes. That feels crazy. But gradually I manage to distance myself better. Now I say to myself: I am not coming as Nanni, I am coming on behalf of the GGD. That helps.”
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Practice on each other
“If you are hired as a sampler at the GGD, you will receive training that consists of two parts,” says Lydia van der Meer, spokesman for the GGD region of Utrecht. “It’s about theory and practice.”
The participants first follow an e-learning, then they get a practical day on a test street and there is a short repetition of the theory.
According to the GGD, extensive attention is paid to the technique of purchasing and the use of personal protective materials. Finally, the practical part involves practicing with the material and the sampling technique. “The latter is done on a manikin,” says Van der Meer, “but also on each other.” There is also practice with the procedure for processing the sample.
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‘Get used to everything, including other people’s nose hair’
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Hans Thedinga (64) is actually a firefighter, but because the GGD badly needed extra hands, he is now a tester in Drachten.
“When I saw someone being tested on TV, I already started to gag. The idea that that cotton swab is going down your throat … But the funny thing is: if you do it yourself to someone else, then you have a different view. you: this has to be done for a while And you get used to that gagging: nine out of ten people do that and that cotton swab in your nose feels like you are jumping into the pool and getting water in your nose.
Everyone comes in sniffling, some are afraid they are sick. My colleagues and I have to pay constant attention. What are we touching, have we disinfected our hands, are the gloves in place? As a firefighter you are often involved in heavy work. It is crazy to suddenly do very refined work. Sometimes people ask what my background is. Then I think: should I now say that I am a firefighter, or do they no longer trust me? “
‘My work is needed’
“But the work also overlaps. At the fire brigade there is not a single job that you cannot do. And I now know: the same applies at the GGD. My wife said recently:” I don’t understand that you can dig into someone else’s noses. ” But my work is necessary, and I no longer see nose hairs. You also no longer see that there is something wrong with that stick when you take it out. You don’t even have time to think about things like this. “
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‘Sometimes it is just like a factory’
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Britte Veltman (22) graduated as a nurse at the start of the corona crisis. Now she works at a test location in Groningen.
“I sometimes see more than a hundred people a day. The littlest kids don’t thrill, and some big guys come in and admit they’re nervous. It is up to us to reassure those people.
When I applied, I actually had no idea what I was applying for. This virus was unknown, the tests were new, the location had yet to be set up. A great challenge that shows what an absurd time we have entered. “
‘Unpleasant, but not painful’
“Before I started, I received training. We also practiced on each other: I always think it is important in healthcare that you know what you are doing to the other. I can therefore say to people with confidence: ‘It is unpleasant , but not painful ‘.
The atmosphere at our location, in the middle of the city, is good. We also hear that from people who come by, ‘you are having a good time’. What I had to get used to: gloves off, gloves on. After every patient again. And disinfect every time: in the beginning my hands were completely flaked.
You learn to work faster and faster. You have to, because it is getting busier. You are never done. When you consider how many people we test together in one day, sometimes more than 1200 at this specific location, you think: it is just like a factory. That is why it is important to keep realizing that you work with people here. “
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