After delaying putting pen to paper for most of his life, Northland District Health Board nurse Jason Drake has published his first book – a thriller/murder mystery – to distract his colleagues and others from Covid-19 stress.
His work on Ward 16 at Whangārei Hospital puts him in the red zone of the Covid-19 pandemic, which he said had initially raised staff anxiety to a level he had never seen before.
"Sure, we've nursed patients with TB, and we went through the whole norovirus outbreak a few years ago. Then, more recently, the measles outbreak - but this was different.
"I think that's one important thing to remember – that although we are nurses and caring for patients with infectious diseases is what we do, we are also members of the public too, sharing the same concerns they do."
He said there were some staff "really stressed" at work and he thought of a novel as a way of diverting their attention.
