ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Dressed from head to toe in protective gear, doctors and nurses crowd around the patient, struggling to keep the man affected by the coronavirus alive.
Behind them, unnoticed and unheard, a worker with the same protective equipment performs a totally different task: disinfecting surfaces, collecting garbage in biohazard bags, discreetly going through beds and life support machinery to mop the floor.
Coronavirus intensive care unit cleaners run a range of infection risks daily to ensure that ICUs work smoothly and are essential to prevent the spread of disease in hospitals. But their status as unskilled workers in a role behind the scenes has kept them out of the public eye.
Although medical teams are praised around the world for their vital work during the pandemic, cleaners are rarely mentioned.
They feel “like the smallest cog in the wheel, like no one considers us,” said one just before beginning the painstaking process of putting on protective gear to enter the ICU at Sotiria Chest Disease Hospital in Athens, the main center of Greece’s COVID-19 treatment.
She and her colleagues said they are treated well by the medical team and praised team spirit within the hospital. The cleaners were also included with medical workers in the first wave of coronavirus vaccinations. But beyond the hospital gates, she said, the predominant attitude toward cleaners is “I haven’t seen you, I don’t know you”.
Some people’s contempt for cleaners is so great that the mother of two, 50, asked to be identified only by her initials, AB, as some relatives are unaware of her work.
“They will perceive it as something inferior, the fact that I am a cleaning lady,” she said. Some relatives would also question the risk of working in a COVID-19 ICU and the danger of transmitting the virus to their family, so she avoided telling them what she does for a living.
Georgia Tsiolou, who as AB started working in Sotiria in January 2020, just a few months before the pandemic hit Greece, said officials used to talk about hiring more medical staff and offering bonuses and long-term contracts for nurses and doctors. But “for us, there is nothing”.
Because they all have one-year contracts, janitors don’t know if they will have a job after December.
“People talk only about doctors and nurses. Of course, it is good that they talk about doctors and nurses, because they are fighting the biggest battle ”against the pandemic, said colleague Anna Athanassiou, 55.“ But with them, we are. We may not know how to heal a person, but we help a lot on our way, in our work. We are a chain. Our work, I believe, is absolutely necessary. “
Medical experts agree, emphasizing how vital cleaning is.
“I cannot separate from medical or nursing work. It is equally important, ”said Antonia Koutsoukou, professor of pneumonology in intensive care, citing infection control, an important issue in hospitals and, particularly, in ICUs. Koutsoukou is the director of the respiratory disease clinic at the University of Athens in Sotiria.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the hospital’s infectious disease specialists trained janitors in the use of protective equipment. Now, experienced cleaners teach new recruits.
For the newest ICU cleaner, Theodoros Grivakos, using the equipment was a struggle. Includes mask, glasses and visor, hooded suit, double gloves glued to the wrists and plastic covers glued to the feet.
“I freaked out a little,” admitted the 28-year-old in the middle of his first shift in the ICU. “I was getting dressed. I was dizzy. I felt pressure. I didn’t feel well. “
Graduated in electrical engineering, Grivakos accepted the job of cleaning when he could not find work in the chosen area. After he was initially assigned to the park-like outdoor areas of the hospital, the sudden move to the ICU was a shock.
Working in an ICU, which is “an environment with greater stress and emotional pressure,” is unlike any other job, said Koutsoukou.
Janitors work closely with patients who may die suddenly, she said. “Therefore, they are also called to arm themselves with a great deal of emotional firmness and composure, and to understand the importance of their own role in caring for the seriously ill.”
Some of the cleaners said they were not prepared for the psychological cost of the job, especially since the isolation of COVID-19 patients, who cannot receive visitors, often led them to form links with hospital staff, including cleaners.
“It is very exciting when you are there. It’s difficult, ”said Tsiolou.
The start of the pandemic was particularly difficult. Faced with a new virus about which doctors knew little, cleaners were afraid to get sick or carry the virus home. Many stayed away from their families or reduced contact to a minimum.
For some, the fear and stress were too much.
“Many people were called to work and they did not want to come because they were afraid,” said Tsiolou. Many of his colleagues resigned, leaving cleaners understaffed.
Those who remained despite the risks say they expect some recognition of their critical role.
“People always think that our sector is inferior,” said Athanassiou, who said he was saddened by the public’s indifference. But the medical team, she said, understood.
“They know that we, too, are just like them,” she said. “We are in exactly the same danger, we are no different.”
Grivakos compared attitudes towards cleaners with the ancient Greek treatment of hilotas, a subdued population of Sparta.
“They don’t talk about (cleaning) people because (we) are slaves,” he said. “(We) are expendable, because one year you are here and the next you may not be.”