ONE week ago, the head of a powerful nursing trade union revealed how members with young children had contacted her asking if they should "make a will".
Distressed registered nurses were telephoning RCN chief Pat Cullen, with many breaking down in tears, due to fears for their safety as a result of inadequate supplies of protective clothing kits - the vital armour for the frontline when treating Covid-19 patients.
Ms Cullen, an experienced mental health nurse herself, said she had never witnessed such "anxiety" among the workforce and likened the situation of staff being asked to wash and exchange goggles to that of two soldiers sharing a gun during war.
Battlefield analogies have been used repeatedly since the hellish magnitude of the pandemic began to unfold.
Throughout the past 10 days, healthcare workers have looked to the north's health minister Robin Swann and Executive leaders for assurances on planning and how they will be equipped as the 'war' on coronavirus enters its most dangerous phase.
The major sticking points have been the availability and distribution of high level protective masks and suits known as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), along with urgent access to NHS swab testing for the virus.
Mr Swann insists the health service has "significant levels of PPE in stock" - a claim echoed this week by the north's most senior nurse, Charlotte McArdle - but the reality on hospital floors has been very different with terrified nurses in two health trusts even seeking out a lawyer in a desperate bid to get supplies and demand "priority" testing.
The events of the past 72 hours have only served to further heighten anxieties as confusion remains as to what will be given - and when it will be given - to hospital and community staff treating not just positive but suspected coronavirus cases also.
The debacle around the Aer Lingus Dublin shipment of PPE and the north's failure to access the Republic's supply from China was a significant blow coming on the back of revelations from a Belfast health trust chief about them receiving just 1,000 specialist masks - when they expected a consignment of 10,000.
Mr Swann last night welcomed the Whitehall delivery of 5 million PPE 'items' but conceded we could "of course" do more, citing the global shortage. Plegdes to "ramp up" testing for healthcare staff were also spelt out in a tea-time press release - but still fall embarrasingly short when compared to our neighbours in the Republic.
The Ulster Unionist man's unenviable portfolio - the one that all the other major parties turned down following Stormont's return - is going to get much more difficult as the death toll from the virus escalates and already overstretched NHS workers face unimaginable pressures as we enter the 'surge' storm.
Mr Swann has also been compelled to follow the lead of the British government's flawed scientific strategy - which Whitehall finally accepted they got wrong - and a major game of catch-up is now on in relation to testing,
Appeals the health minister made yesterday to "not lose our nerve" and his desire to focus with his Executive colleagues on "saving every possible life" were no doubt sincere.
However his message to "keep the faith" in the critical days ahead is contingent on staff being given clear, factual information about their access to PPE - as opposed to the ad hoc way it has been distributed across health trusts up until now.
During a telephone call with Ms Cullen yesterday, I asked her what had changed in the past seven days since she had told me about her heartbreaking conversations with young nurses fearing they were going to die doing their job due to a lack of protective clothing.
Her reply: "Nothing's changed...we're no different to a week ago. We just want clarity."
For the sake of the 48 patients with Covid-19 in ICU beds last night, and those nursing them, as well as the hundreds of seriously ill cases and staff treating them in the weeks ahead, it can only be hoped that our Executive delivers on its pledges and protects those on the front.
